Recent stories of Irish women and the Eucharist

Born in 1907 in Kanturk in North Cork, Edel Mary Quinn was one of Ireland's great twentieth-century lay apostles as well as an outstanding member of the Legion of Mary which she joined in 1929.  She went as an envoy to East Africa in 1936 and died at the age of 36 in 1944. Her cause for canonisation remains active. In 1994 she was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II, recognising the heroic virtue of her life.  Although reports of favours and healings have been attributed to her intercession, no miracle has yet been officially approved for her beatification.  Many who have studied her life have remarked that her perseverance despite illness seems extraordinary, leading some to describe her life itself as a kind of miracle.

According to one source, her given name at baptism was Edelweiss (the name of a tough but beautiful white alpine flower which was shortened to Edel).  This account, however, is not confirmed by other sources as far as I can tell.  I did find her birth certificate through a public online search and it turned up as Edelle at birth.  I do like the image and some literary license seems justified in this case.

Her family moved from town to town as her father worked for a bank. It is believed that a French man named Pierre Landrin who was manager of a tile company in Dublin where Edel worked proposed marriage to her. God had other plans for Edel. She had hoped to become a nun. Yet illness redirected her vocation and ultimately prepared her for the mission that would make her known throughout East Africa.  Following a diagnosis of tuberculosis in 1932 Edel spent 18 months in a sanatorium in County Wicklow.

Her personal journey was very much centred on the Eucharist and a total self-giving to Mary the Mother of God and of all Christian disciples.   For her and the other members of the Legion of Mary and drawing on the spirituality of Saint Louis de Montfort, Mary was the ‘safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way’ to Jesus and to sanctity (Treatise on the True Devotion to Mary 55).

According to writings of Sister Margaret MacCurtain OP (1929–2020), a Dominican religious sister, historian, educator and one of the pioneers of Irish women's history, we find that Edel added to the weekly meetings of the Legion a rigorous regime of prayers, early rising and fasting. She displayed exceptional gifts of leadership and organisation. [refer to note below]

In the final years of her life, she worked among the peoples of Kenya, Tanganyika (Tanzania), Uganda and Nyasaland (Malawi), travelling huge distances by local transport.

There are numerous Irish women who have been declared ‘Servants of God’ and who may, some day, be canonised as saints.  Another and very recent case is that of Sister Clare Crockett (1982-2016), a Derry-born Religious Sister of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother and since 2024, Servant of God who found the infinite love and mercy of God in the Blessed Sacrament. 

Among the list of other Irish women who have been declared Servants of God are: Nano Nagle (1728-1784), founder of the Presentation Sisters, Catherine McAuley (1778-1841), founder of the Sisters of Mercy,  Mother Mary Aikenhead (1787-1858), founder of the Religious Sisters of Charity, Margaret Aylward (1810-1889), founder of the Holy Faith Sisters along with others whose cause is being promoted.

Hopefully many of these women will, some day, be recognised as saints.

A mhná naofa uile na hÉireann, guígí ar ár son!

All women saints of Ireland pray for us!

The following was a favourite prayer of Edel full of Eucharistic resonances:

Grave of Venerable Edel Quinn in Nairobi

‘Dear Jesus make Thyself to me, a living bright reality.  More present to Faith’s vision keen, than any outward object seen, More dear, more intimately nigh than e’en the sweetest earthly tie.’

Grave of Servant of God, Sr Clare Crockett
in Derry city, Northern Ireland.
Picture taken in July 2021