presentation sisters qld

Presentation Sisters participating in the mission of Jesus in the United States

Inspired by venerable nano nagle, our foundress, we participate in the gospel call of liberation and social transformation., spreading god’s love through compassionate service., is god calling you to be a sister.

Union of Presentation Sisters

In addition to our Presentation Sisters and Friends of Nano living and ministering in various locations throughout the United States, we are also a Unit of the international Union of Presentation Sisters and are members of the International Presentation Association, linking us to Presentation people around the world in charism and mission.

Members of the Union live and minister not only in the United States but also in Canada, Chile, Dominica, Ecuador, England, Holy Land, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, Thailand, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Sisters of the Sacred Heart established convents and schools in other towns and cities of Ireland. In 1791 Pope Pius VI granted papal approval. The sisters took simple vows and were not bound by enclosure ensuring that Nano Nagle’s desire to be wherever the poor were to be found lived on in the work of her sisters. At the core of the congregation’s mission was a passion for justice and a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In 2024 our new Unit Leadership Team stepped into office. In this photo we have our Unit Leadership Team: Sisters Jocelyn, Marilyn, Annette and Lois. Click below to learn more about our sisters!

Our Spirituality

We, Presentation Sisters, commit ourselves to a Spirituality of being in Communion that seeks God in the inter-connectedness of the whole of creation and empowers active love for self, others and all of nature. Gathered in union with the Cosmic Christ, we experience our interconnectedness and the call to communion in our diversity. This interconnectedness draws us to nurture and reverence the Cosmos, Earth and its peoples, particularly those most wounded.

our ministries

Presentation prayer center, 5300 12th st. s, #110 fargo, nd 58104.

The Prayer Center collaborates with individuals and groups in nurturing mind, body and soul to discover ever-deepening relationships with God, self, and others.

Presentation Ministry Center

2003 ruiz street, san antonio, tx. 78207.

Presentation Ministry Center is a place of hospitality, primarily dedicated to meeting the needs of immigrant people. Programs offered are designed to educate participants and to provide opportunities for holistic development in a community building atmosphere.

Presentation Learning Center

2216 e. 108th street los angeles, california 90059.

An educational project, of the Presentation Sisters serving primarily Spanish-speaking women and men from the Watts area of Los Angeles.

Presentation Sisters Center

Shaw, mississippi.

In September 2009 the US Unit establishment a ministry in Shaw, Mississippi, where there was a critical need for remedial education due to an under-achieving school system. The ministry has grown to offer school tutoring, adult computer classes, computer availability for online courses, adult reading, and outreach to nursing homes and the home-bound. Our Sisters have recently left this area and have handed over the Ministry Center to the current community. 

Wisdom Initiatives

As a core dimension of our mission, our congregation respects and honors the presence of energy, the wisdom and experience of our older members and all elders in society. Everyone is invitied to participate and contribute to the best of his/her ability.

Presentation Music Studio

Sister Bernadette Trecker teaches over 25 students each year from her music studio, which she began in 2004 in Fargo, North Dakota.

Presentation Partners in Housing

219 7th street s. fargo, nd 58103.

Presentation Partners in Housing (PPiH) is a ministry sponsored by the Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, United States Province to assist people who are homeless or threatened by homelessness, and who, despite their personal efforts are struggling to meet basic needs.

" The Almighty makes use of the weakest means to bring about His works"

- Nano Nagle

News & Events

2024 nano nagle award at st. norbert school, sr. carol keehan award 2024, ywca grand opening, partner with us.

You can contribute to the mission of the US Province of the Sisters of the Presentation in a variety of ways including prayer, volunteering or financial contributions.

Request Prayer

Donate your time and talents, make a financial contribution.

Type of place

School, Residence (group), House, Institutional / group housing

Victorian 1860-1890, World War II 1939-1945

Sisters of Presentation Convent

This is an image of the local heritage place known as Sisters of Presentation Convent

Sisters of Presentation Convent Zoom current image

This house was constructed circa 1885 for bank manager James Gibson as a marine residence. It became his permanent residence after his retirement in the 1890s, called ‘Culterfel’. The property was sold to John Henry Hart in 1911, a grazier who also used it as a holiday and retirement residence. Transferred to his trustees with power of sale in 1929, it was sold in 1935 to Archbishop James Duhig. Duhig already owned ‘Wyvernleigh’ across the road and established the St John Vianney parish there in 1930. After alterations ‘Culterfel’ became home to the Presentation Sisters and their school, which opened in 1941. It continues to serve as the Convent of the Sisters of Presentation.

Also known as

L89_RP33032 ; L90_RP33032

Local Heritage Place Since — 1 January 2004

Date of Citation — March 2015

People/associations

Criterion for listing, interactive mapping.

City Plan Interactive Mapping

The appeal of Manly as a bayside suburb grew in the 1880s with the subdivision and sale of the 151 acre ‘Manly Beach Estate’. The estate was also known as the ‘Wyvernleigh Estate’, after a residence which had been constructed there. Bank manager James Gibson was the first registered purchaser of allotments in the estate in 1882, and his purchases included this site, fronting Dallie and Waterloo Streets (now Oceana Terrace and Kooralgin Street). He added surrounding blocks to his holding in 1883 and 1885. During that time Gibson also had a marine residence constructed on the site. By 1885 the Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser was calling attention to a sale of Manly Beach Estate allotments ‘in close proximity to the marine residence of our well-known townsman, James Gibson, Esq.’ Gibson’s house was included in the 1887 estate sale maps, opposite ‘Wyvernleigh’.

Gibson’s house ‘Culterfel’ was one of the first seaside holiday houses constructed in Manly. As manager of the Ipswich branch of the Bank of New South Wales, Gibson and his family primarily resided in Ipswich, but took their holidays in the Manly house. The demand for bayside holiday houses accelerated in the late nineteenth century, as wealthy Brisbane residents took advantage of the opening of railway lines to Brisbane’s bayside suburbs and an economic boom, to create vacation and retirement homes. Most of this development occurred at Sandgate and Shorncliffe, with growth at Wynnum and Manly following in the twentieth century.

Gibson had built ‘a mansion worthy of the site’, according to an 1887 advertisement in the Queensland Figaro and Punch . ‘Culterfel’ faced the bay, with verandas to take advantage of the view. It was slightly less elevated than ‘Wyvernleigh’ but its position was still considered ‘one of the best on the shores of Moreton Bay,’ with an ‘unobstructed and extensive’ view.

Gibson and his wife became the permanent residents of ‘Culterfel’ on his retirement in the early 1890s. After the death of his wife in 1898, Gibson removed to Brisbane and leased the Manly property, which included stables, a coach house and gardens. ‘Culterfel’ briefly became a boarding house in 1909 and 1910 before Gibson’s death in 1910. The property was then sold to John Hart, a Blackall grazier. Hart followed Gibson’s example, initially using ‘Culterfel’ as a holiday residence but later retiring to the property with his wife. The Harts took an interest in the local community, joining clubs and providing the house to host the Manly fete in 1912 and Green Island Scheme meetings in 1920. The house was also used as security for a significant loan of £50,194, which Hart took out in July 1920. The mortgage seems not to have been related to ‘Culterfel’ itself; Hart owned large holdings in western Queensland and the mortgage may have been associated with these. In the late 1920s the Harts removed to a residence in Ascot. The Hart Estate at Manly was offered for sale in 1927, and Hart died a year later in 1928.

‘Culterfel’ and its land, including lots 64 to 69 and 89 to 90, was purchased by Brisbane’s Roman Catholic Archbishop James Duhig in December 1935. Following his appointment as Co-adjator in 1912 and Archbishop in 1917 Duhig planned immense and unprecedented growth within the Church. Over one hundred Roman Catholic churches were constructed in the Brisbane Archdiocese between 1912 and 1928. As part of this growth scheme Duhig purchased large old estates in and around Brisbane, modifying the houses and adding to the sites churches, schools, convents and presbyteries. These included ‘Folkstone’ in Bowen Hills (Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, 1925), ‘Mount Margaret’ in Wynnum (now Nazareth House) and ‘Wyvernleigh’, across the road from this property.

Manly was ripe for Duhig’s investment, with a growing population but a shortage of Catholic places of worship and education. Wynnum was the nearest worship centre for Manly’s Catholic residents, with a church for Sunday services and the Sisters of Mercy’s convent school providing non-secular education. It was not until Duhig purchased ‘Wyvernleigh’ in 1925 that a church was proposed for Manly. In 1930 the St John Vianney parish was established, ‘Wyvernleigh’ was demolished, and a presbytery erected on the site in 1936. ‘Culterfel’ also played a role in this progress. Although title to ‘Culterfel’ did not pass to Duhig until January 1936, the Archbishop appears to have taken possession of the house early, with ‘Culterfel’ becoming home to the parish priest, Rev Father Butler, in 1930. The lower level of ‘Culterfel’ was reportedly used as a mass centre pending the completion of the presbytery on the former ‘Wyvernleigh’ site. The house was also used for the parish’s social gatherings, holidays for poor children, and a wedding breakfast was held on the veranda in 1931. However, the parish’s use of ‘Culterfel’ appears to have declined over the course of the 1930s, after the presbytery and a church hall were built on the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site.

In 1940 ‘Culterfel’ was remodelled to provide a seaside convent for the Presentation Sisters. The alterations, which cost around £1,700, are likely to have been undertaken by architect Frank Cullen. Cullen trained with Hennessy, Hennessy and Co and ran an architectural firm with Desmond Egan from 1937 to 1941. He was also the Archbishop’s nephew and was responsible for the design of many interwar and postwar Catholic buildings, including the presbytery for the ‘Wyvernleigh’ site (1936), alterations to Mount Carmel Convent at Wynnum (1940), the second section of the Villa Maria Hostel (1940) and extensions to St Joseph’s Nudgee College (1950s).

The property was transferred to the Roman Catholic Diocese Trustees on 14 January 1941. Twelve days later, the St Philomena’s Convent and School was blessed and opened by Archbishop Duhig. It was home to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation (or Presentation Sisters), who had arrived in Queensland in February 1900. The order focused on outreach, particularly education, and the Sisters established schools and convents in Longreach and central Queensland. Schools in Brisbane followed, including St Rita’s Convent School in Clayfield which opened in 1926, and the Church of Christ school in Graceville in 1937 (now Christ the King Catholic Primary School). A Catholic school for

Manly was foreshadowed by Duhig in 1930, and one of the order’s Queensland pioneers, Mother Ursula, helped select the Manly site in September 1940. Oral history suggests that the Sisters had moved into the Manly convent in December 1940, and the Catholic Leader of January 1941 stated that the Presentation Sisters were seeking school enrolments. The Sisters conducted the school from the convent site, opening with just over 80 students. The school was renamed St John Vianney’s Catholic Primary School and moved across the road to a purpose-built schoolhouse in 1953.

The Convent and its land were transferred to the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland in 1959. The coach house, which stood along the Oceana Terrace frontage, was converted into a laundry and offices. A garage, chapel and aged care accommodation were added to the site in the 1970s and 1980s; these buildings are not included in the heritage overlay. The site continues to be owned by the Corporation of the Trustees of the Order of the Sisters of the Presentation in Queensland.

Statement of significance

Relevant assessment criteria.

This is a place of local heritage significance and meets one or more of the local heritage criteria under the Heritage planning scheme policy of the Brisbane City Plan 2014. It is significant because:

Criterion A

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of the city's or local area’s history

as one of the first large holiday residences built in the Manly area in the nineteenth century.

Criterion B

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of the city’s or local area’s cultural heritage

as a rare surviving example of a large nineteenth century holiday and retirement residence built in Manly.

Criterion G

The place has a strong or special association with the life or work of a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons

as it has served as the Convent for the Presentation Sisters since 1941.

Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Entry on the Queensland Heritage Register, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church [601585]

Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Queensland Historic Titles

Brisbane Courier, Catholic Leader, Courier Mail, Longreach Leader, Queensland Times Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, Queensland Figaro and Punch, Western Champion, 1883-1945

Brisbane City Council, Building Cards and Registers of New Buildings, 1936-1941

Brisbane City Council Department of Works Detail Plan No W 44

Brisbane City Council, City Architecture & Heritage Team, heritage citations

Brisbane City Plan 2014, aerial photographs 1946, 2012

Estate maps, Manly Beach and Wyvernleigh, 1883, 1887

History of the Presentation Sisters in Australia (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Catholic Parish (website)

History of St John Vianney’s Primary School (website)

Rev A Nolan, History of the Manly Parish (notes from the South Moreton Bicentennial Historical Collection)

Mervyn N Beitz, From Mangroves to Moorings

Citation prepared by — Brisbane City Council (page revised June 2022)

• Congregations
• Executive Team
• Presentation People
• Welcoming the Stranger
• Gathering Of Presentation People
• Catholic Sisters Week
• World Day of Prayer for Vocations
• Online Enrichment Opportunities
• Yes We CAN Food Drive
• Gathering Minutes & Materials
• Gathering Photos
• Gathering Reflections
• Laudate Deum 2024 Reflection
• Season of Creation 2023

International Presentation Association

The international presentation association is a networking of the various congregations of presentation women around the world, formed to foster unity and to enable collaboration for the sake of mission..

The IPA Assembly is the policy-making body of the International Presentation Association. Members are congregational leaders, justice contact persons, and one additional member of each participating congregation. Three representatives from the Association of Presentations in Latin America are also included. The Assembly meets every five years and the meetings are hosted by the Presentation sisters around the world.

Our mission is to speak and act in partnership with others for global justice from a contemplative stance in a spirit of oneness with the whole of creation.                   

2017 IPA Assembly

Members Of IPA Are:

Union of presentation sisters.

• English Province
• Indian Province
• Ireland, Northern Province
• Ireland, South East Province
• Ireland, South West Province
• Latin American Unit
• New Zealand Vice Province
• Pakistan Vice Province
• Philippines Region
• United States Province
• Zambia Vice Province
• Zimbabwe Vice Province

Conference Of Presentation Sisters Of North America

• Aberdeen Congregation
• Dubuque Congregation
• Newfoundland Congregation
• New Windsor Congregation
• San Francisco Congregation
• Staten Island Congregation
• United States Province of Union

Australian Society Of Presentation Sisters

• Lismore Congregation
• Papua New Guinea Mission/Region
• Queensland Congregation
• Tasmania Congregation
• Victoria Congregation
• Wagga Wagga Congregation
• Western Australia Congregation

Sign Up For Updates!

By signing up to receive our newsletter, you will stay informed about upcoming events, news, and new resources.

• Newspapers & Gazettes
• The Longreach Leader (Qld. : 1923 - 1954) View title info
• Wed 1 Dec 1937 Prev issue Next issue Browse issues
• Page 46 Prev page Next page Browse pages
• Presentation Sisters Prev article Next article Browse articles

Article text

Illustrations, word position.

Line position

Paragraph operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left. Paragraph operations include:

• Adjust the order paragraphs
• Add new blank paragraphs
• Duplicate an existing paragraph
• Remove a paragraph

Zone operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left. Zone operations include:

• Adjust the order of zones
• Add new blank zone
• Remove a zone

Tables. Coming soon

• Subheadings
• Abstract Thirty-eight years ago no Presentation Convent existed in Queensland, but on 13th February, 1900, five Presentation Sisters from Mount
• — Em Dash
• ½ One Half
• £ Pound
• ¼ One Quarter
• ¾ Three Quarters
• Æ Ligature AE
• æ Ligature ae
• Œ Ligature OE
• œ Ligature oe
• ° Degree
• ¶ Pilcrow
• § Section
• Ä A with Umlaut
• ä a with Umlaut
• Ö O with Umlaut
• ö o with Umlaut
• Ü U with Umlaut
• ü u with Umlaut
• ß Sharp S
• Õ O with Tilde
• õ o with Tilde
• Ô O with Circumflex
• ô o with Circumflex
• É E with Acute
• é e with Acute
• È E with Grave
• è e with Grave

Loading article contents, please wait...

Download Citation

EndNote EndNote XML BibTeX

• Article text 0 text corrections
• Categories 0
• Toggle Layout

Tags, Lists & Notes Help

Please choose from the following download options:

Share this item on:

Print article as...

Display settings Help

Article categories help, original category.

The National Library of Australia's Copies Direct service lets you purchase higher quality, larger sized photocopies or electronic copies of newspapers pages.

Clicking on the Order now button below will open the ordering form in a new window which will allow you to enter the details of your request.

More options under 'download'...

You need to login before you can save preferences.

Details of support

Text corrections.

The Longreach Leader (Qld. : 1923 - 1954), Wed 1 Dec 1937, Page 46 - Presentation Sisters

Already got a Trove account

Sign up for a free trove account.

It's easy and takes two shakes of a lamb's tail!

With your Trove account you can:

• edit and delete tags and comments,
• create lists,
• create private tags and comments, readable only by you, and
• keep track of your newspaper corrections

Confirm you're a human

Since you've made it this far, we want to assume you're a real, live human. But we need to be super sure you aren't a robot.

Article text , suitable for Copy and Paste

• Principal's Welcome
• Mission and Vision
• Governance and Leadership
• College History
• Parents and Friends
• College Archives
• Policies and Reports
• Transport and Location
• Latest News
• Pastoral Care
• Student Leadership
• Counselling
• Religious Life of the School
• Academic Achievements
• Subjects Offered
• Technology and STEAM
• The Trinity Centre
• Diverse Learners
• Speech and Communication
• Outdoor Education
• See Why I Chose St Rita's
• College Tours
• Virtual Tour
• Make a Payment
• Online Boutique

The History of St Rita's College Our College

St rita’s college.

The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (pbvm) first came to Australia in 1866 and the first of the Order arrived in Longreach, Queensland, in 1900.

Stanley Hall, a one-storey residence at Clayfield, had been built on the traditional lands of the Turrbal and Jagera peoples by John Forth in 1885. The residence was home to Herbert Hunter from 1888 to 1910 during which time the second story and tower were built in 1890. From 1911 to 1926 the property was owned by Edward Blume and his family.

In 1926, Sr Alice Kennedy, pbvm and Sr Mary Madden, pbvm purchased Stanley Hall along with four acres of land surrounding the residence to establish St Rita’s College, not really knowing how they would manage to pay the asking price of £22,000, but discerning that the purchase was the correct action to take. St Rita’s officially opened on 27 September 1926, and on 4 August the following year, 1927, St Rita’s College was registered as a Secondary School (Boarding and Day). Initially boys and girls were enrolled from Kindergarten to Grade 3, and girls only from Grade 4 to Senior.

In deciding what name for the school to take, the Sisters revealed a snippet of dry Irish humour when they chose St Rita’s as the name, for St Rita of Cascia is the Patron Saint of impossible causes. The challenges experienced by the Presentation Sisters in those early years when they took on this large debt with little means of paying must have worried them as being an impossible cause. But, through God’s grace and the exceptional hard work of the Sisters over many years, and, no doubt, through the intercession of St Rita herself, our College has flourished.

Stanley Hall has served as the living and praying quarters for the Sisters, as a dormitory for the boarders and a classroom for the students. In 2009, the year of the 225 th anniversary of Nano Nagle’s death, the Presentation Sisters moved from Stanley Hall and the heritage-listed building was converted into a senior administration area.

Timber from the living quarters of the Sisters and boarders was retained and remodelled into furniture for the staff lounge area. This meaningful preservation extends the heritage of the Presentation Sisters and the foundations of St Rita’s College for many years to come.

St Rita’s today educates 1200 girls from Years 5-12 and continues the rich tradition of social justice instilled in the charism of Venerable Nano Nagle and the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Academic and vocational excellence is valued and each girl is encouraged to make the most of their gifts and realise their full potential.

Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query

And love shall be your lantern flame

Raphael Consedine pbvm

Congregations

Explore Presentation life through justice, prayer and connection...

Set your home and work address and access your most frequently used addresses easily.

Browse : ACT | NSW | NT | QLD | SA | TAS | VIC | WA

• Add your business
• White Pages
• Yellow Pages
• About Thryv Australia