Lest We Forget
Sister St. Jude McGarrigle, CSJP (1926-2009)
Hannah McGarrigle (Sister St. Jude) was born in Glasgow on 23 January 1923. She was the youngest of four daughters born to Joseph and Hannah McGarrigle and is the last surviving member of her family. On 14 August 1944, Hannah responded to God’s call and left home to join the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in Nottingham. Within a short time Rearsby was opened and the novitiate was transferred. Sister Jude and her companions were the first residents. She made her First Profession in 1947 and her Final Profession in 2 February 1950.
Throughout her long and active life Sister Jude served in many of our community projects. As a young Sister her first appointment was to St. Joseph’s, Borrowash, a Diocesan Mother and Baby Home run by the Sisters. She then moved to St. Hugh Convent, Cleethorpes where she served for five years. This was a particularly busy convent as the Sisters ran a small hospital/nursing home. From there Sister Jude moved to St. Joseph’s Convent, Burslem. In 1957 she returned to her native Scotland and served at St. Charles’, Carstairs, a residential special needs facility for children and adult women, Mount Carmel Convent, Rothesay and St. Peter’s Seminaries at Darleith and Kilmahew. Sister Jude returned to England and served in a small convent in Harworth, North Nottinghamshire where the Sisters were invited to establish a school for catholic children. Sister Jude helped with the playground duty and delighted in being with the children. Many a child called into the convent for her to bandage a wound, sew a hem or sort out their needs. She endeared herself to them. After a few years she returned to Kilmahew, Scotland where she served until the seminary closed in 1980. In describing her time at the seminaries she wrote “I was very happy to work at Darleith and Kilmahew for many years. There was a lovely atmosphere. The Sisters, Staff, Priests and Students were like one great big family. I was there for the closure of Kilmahew which was sad.” In 1980 Jude returned to Rearsby and commented that the Convent ‘had taken on a new look’ since her time there in the late 40’s. She helped Sister Lucy and enjoyed baking cakes and scones for the Sisters as well as for the many people who came for retreat and quiet days in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. Often women who needed a break came to Rearsby for a few days rest and they frequently told the Sisters how much their few days at Rearsby had helped them over a difficult patch. Sister Jude enjoyed being part of this ministry.
Jude always kept up with her hobbies. She was interested in photography, stamp collecting and coins. Every convent she went to she took photographs and had a picture of every Sister in her collection. She was also very interested in stamps and introduced many of us to the ‘penny black.’ It was fascinating to sit with her and let her lead us through her stamp albums. The amount of information she gleaned from a stamp was surprising to the less informed amongst us. Her interest in coins resulted in her collecting quite a number. Her occasional holidays in Cleethorpes always featured a visit to the coin shop on the front and the purchase of yet ‘another’ one. A few years ago, when her health began to fail and she was no longer able to enjoy her coins she donated her collection to CAFOD.
Sister came from a very close knit family. She took every opportunity to visit her sisters, Elizabeth, Bridget and Mary and other members of the family. They were very attentive to her. Her nephew Patrick and his wife Jean have kept in close touch through her life and have been very good to her. Jude enjoyed frequent phone calls from them and visits, keeping her up to date with news from home.
Sister Jude was a happy and contented person and a loyal and loved member of the community. Over the years she became close friends with the Sisters with whom she lived and when she or they moved to another location they kept in touch. During the war years, when young women joined the community to serve in America and were unable to cross the Atlantic, they came to Nottingham, made their Novitiate with Jude and her companions and after the war set sail for far off shores. Over the years these Sisters have remained in contact through letter writing and exchange in photographs. Sisters travelling to and from the States acted as carriers for messages and gifts.
Throughout her life, Sister Jude was a prayerful, compassionate woman. She died, as she lived, quietly and peacefully on October 5, 2009. May she now enjoy the love and care of God who was always at the centre of her life.