The Gentili Province Calvary & The Stations of the Cross Omeath
On the 17th. March 1908, a short distance from Omeath, on the way to Carlingford, a Calvarywas blessed by the Rosminians. This consisted of the Crucified Christ, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. John.
These statues had come from France after the Rosminians along with other Religious Orders, had been expelled from there by an anti-clerical French government. In September of that year the statue of St. Mary Magdalene was added to the group.
In the following year on the 2nd. of April, the Stations of the Cross were blessed and over the years many people have come to tread that journey with The Saviour. As I was taking these pictures on the first Friday of Lent 2012 I was impressed to see a group of about twenty people beginning the Stations at three o’clock. I am sure that the MacCreanor Sisters, Josie and Annie, who had donated the Stations.
Many members of the Institute have found their final resting place on the side of this little hill. Fr. Luigi Gentile’s remains were transferred there from the O’Connell Circle, Glasnevin in 1938 and placed in a specially built tomb beside the Calvary.
When our Congregation decided to establish a new province consisting of the former provinces of The United Kingdom, Ireland, The United States and New Zealand it was also decided to place it under the patronage of Fr. Luigi Gentili.
Acknowledments: Brid Fahey Bates; Br. Timothy O’Driscoll