The OLA Blog
Stories, reflections, and updates from our mission and community life. Here we share reflections, insights and experiences, believing that the simple act of sharing can inspire, connect, and open hearts.
Peace Begins with Dignity: St Bakhita’s Day 2026
St Josephine Bakhita understood what it is to be treated as property. Kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery, she lived through years of degradation that tried to erase her personhood. Her feast day exists because we refuse to look away from what was done to her,...
St Brigid: Presence Across Centuries
St Brigid of Kildare belongs to a time when faith was carried on foot, tested by weather, hunger, kinship, and land. The Ireland she knew was still finding its Christian language, still learning how belief might live among fields, hearths, and shared labour. It was a...
RIP Sr Mary Barron OLA
On Tuesday 20th January 2026, OLA Sisters, joined by Mary’s brother Michael and her sister Alice, her nephews and nieces, relatives and friends, and the Infirmary Staff gathered in Ardfoyle Chapel to thank God, for the life of Sr. Mary Barron, to bid farewell and to...
Sr Mary T. Barron appointed Consultor to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
Our Congregational Leader, Sr Mary T. Barron, has been appointed as a Consultor to the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. This new role, announced last week by Pope Leo XIV, crowns decades of missionary, congregational, and international leadership, and reflects...
In the Current of the Year
It’s a cliché to say that time seems to pass more swiftly each year, and yet, the cliché doesn’t make it less real. Each day brings its own demands and surprises, and the world demands attention and action. Justice, peace, and the dignity of every living being...
Pope Leo’s Prayer Intentions for 2026
Each month, the Holy Father shares his prayer intentions. These are invitations to bring prayer into action, to carry concern for the world and the Church into everyday life. These prayers are the result of careful discernment. Church leaders and communities from many...
Love in the Flesh – Advent Week 4
Love in the Flesh 📖 Scripture: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” ❤️ Reflection Love is the heartbeat of Advent. It’s the reason for the waiting, the joy behind the promise, and the light that breaks into the world. In this final...
Joy in the Promise – Advent Week 3
Joy in the Promise 📖 Scripture: Luke 1:46–55 (The Magnificat) “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” 🌟 Reflection Joy is not just a feeling — it’s a response to God’s faithfulness. Mary’s song bursts forth from a heart that...
Papiri Abduction: Reports of 100 Children Released
It is being widely reported that a number of the children abducted from St Mary’s School in Papiri may have been released, and we welcome this development with deep relief and hope. Any movement toward the safe return of these children is a grace, and we hold...
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