On Saturday, 7 March 2026, we gathered with families and friends who had travelled long distances to celebrate sixty years of religious life — the Diamond Jubilee of Sr Philomena Mulligan, Sr Josephine Cox and Sr Agnes Haverty. OLA Sisters from other communities joined us, along with Fr Eddie O’Connor and Fr Hugh Harkin SMA.
Sixty years ago, these three women made their first profession as OLA Sisters. They promised to live the Gospel through their words, their actions and their presence — above all in Africa. That promise set them on journeys that would take them across Nigeria, Ghana, Argentina, Zambia, England and Ireland.
In each place, they served where they were needed. Between them, they taught in secondary schools, practised medicine, provided nursing care, worked in the kitchen, administered financial resources, offered pastoral support, accompanied young novices in formation, took on leadership responsibilities, and committed themselves to justice and care for creation. The range of that service, across so many years and places, gives some sense of what a life of availability looks like in practice.
Those who know Josephine, Agnes and Philomena speak of their love and respect for people, their generosity, their hard work, their humour, their hospitality, and their deep concern for those on the margins. They brought a listening heart wherever they went.
Their journeys were not without pain and struggle, and we do not pretend otherwise. Sixty years of religious life carry sorrow and strain alongside fulfilment and grace. The witness of these three sisters lies precisely in the fact that they continued — that through all of it, they remained faithful to the call they heard long ago.
As we gathered around them on their Diamond Jubilee, there was gratitude too for all those who accompanied them along the way: families, friends, fellow sisters, and the many people among whom they lived and worked. Every vocation is sustained by others, and that was deeply felt on the day.
Sr Josephine, Sr Agnes and Sr Philomena: sixty years of prayer, service and missionary commitment. Through your compassion, your presence and your faithfulness, you have revealed God’s love to many people across many places. We thank God for each of you.
