The first foundation outside France, the Cenacle of Rome, was called to the Eternal City in 1876 by Father Laurençot, a Jesuit. The project came to fruition three years later. The nuns chosen for the foundation were Mother Estienne, Mother Isabelle de Bridieu, Mother Hélène de Ligonnès (who had just taken her vows on October 3rd), and Sister Eugénie Billet. The Versailles community’s journal recounts the sacrifice that the new venture represented: a painful separation of the bonds of sisterhood and also a painful loss for the organization of the Versailles community, which lost the General Secretary of the Congregation and a fully trained treasurer. The travelers’ letters emphasize their joy and emotions, and the thanksgiving for the welcome they received.

The Cenacle in Rome, Stamperia Street

Leaving Versailles on October 9th, the founders passed through Paris, Lyon, and Chambéry, and entered Rome on October 15th, the feast of St. Teresa. Initially sheltered in the apartment of a Countess who had left for the novitiate in Versailles, the sisters then rented an apartment in the Palazzo Balestra for a while, before being able to buy a palace on Via della Stamperia: a vast, multi-story residence overlooking a square with a garden–in which the first superior of the community, Mother Paola Filippi, posed.

The Community in Rome in 1890.

Just ten years after its foundation, the community had grown considerably. A photo taken in 1890 shows 12 choir sisters, 9 coadjutor sisters, 6 novices (white veils), and 7 postulants: a total of 34 sisters.

1888 United Kingdom (Manchester)

Bishop Hubert Vaughan of Salford invited the Cenacle to establish a community in Manchester. His request in 1887 met with the approval of the Superior General and the encouragement of the Archbishop of Paris. Two sisters were therefore sent to Manchester in October 1887 to begin the process of acquiring a house. It had to be located in an area where the construction of factories was prohibited to ensure the tranquility necessary for the ministry. Six months later, the foundresses from the communities of Paris and Versailles set out. They were Mothers Caroline Ponchon de St André, Anna Browne, Thérèse de Vaines, Valentine de Chamon, Renard, and Klein, as well as Sisters Virginie, Modeste, Émilie, and Juliette. They were able to move into their “monastery” immediately: two houses, one for the community, the other for retreatants; and two gardens connected by a passageway. The bare necessities for their arrival were provided by the Sisters of Charity.

Manchester Cenacle

Source: MM, 3S 3/15.

The sisters of the Manchester community in 1914.

Source: MM, 3S 3-15.

In early July 1914, Mother Marie Dognin made a canonical visitation to the community. She posed with Mother Dolly Vuillaume, superior, Mother Berthe Billardon, assistant superior, and the rest of the community: coadjutor sisters, postulants, and novices.

1892 United States of America (New York City)

The first inspiration for the American foundation came through Mother Mary of Mercy of Corpus Christi Monastery at Hunts Point in New York City. Mother Mary knew the Cenacle in France and was a spiritual daughter of Mother Marie Aimee Lautier, the Cenacle Superior General. For years she encouraged Archbishop Michael A. Corrigan to request a Cenacle foundation, which he did in 1890. Thus, four intrepid volunteers sailed from Le Havre, France, on July 9, 1892, and landed in New York City eight days later. They stepped onto American soil with $200 in their pockets, and hearts full of expectation and hope “to make Jesus Christ known and loved” in North America.

Pioneers in the United States. Left to right: Mother Bachelard, Mother de Grimaldi, Madame de Marschall, and Sister Françoise Ellien.

The four foundresses of the Cenacle in the United States were:

Mother Christine de Grimaldi, the beloved superior of the foundation community in New York City, was described as “small and plain, full of sympathy and charity for all… a soul of faith and courage.” She seems to have had a mystical quality and a deep attraction to silence, solitude, prayer, and penance. She wrote, “…my prayer limits itself, then, to taste God, more than to meditate or contemplate.”

Mother Jenny Bachelard was the treasurer of the community and was described by Sister Françoise Ellien as “very smart, very fascinating, what a head for business.” Mother Bachelard’s retreat notes of 1890 reveal her commitment to the mission in the United States: “What if my Superior General tells me to leave for America to make a foundation there for the greater glory of God and Our Lady of the Cenacle? Labor and sufferings there will be plenty, but He will be with me. With what ardent joy I shall offer myself to be with Him.”

Madam Marietta de Marschall was an Austrian and a sister in temporary vows. Her time in the United States was very brief, as she was recalled to France in January 1893. Her return brought relief to the novices at Versailles who saw it as an assurance that serving in the mission in the United States was not necessarily a permanent call. New interest in volunteering for the American mission arose after Madam de Marschall returned to France.

Sister Françoise Ellien was the oldest of the four American pioneers at the age of 63. When she volunteered to join the American mission, her superior consulted with the community’s doctor, who assured her that Sister Françoise would be healthy for another 25 years. Mother Jenny Bachelard described her as “full of life, activity, and strength.” She never learned to speak English, but Sister Françoise nonetheless braved the New York City markets to ask the local merchants for donations of food and all the other items needed to keep a household running.

The first Cenacle in America, founded in 1892 on West 142nd Street, New York, 1892-1894

When the four foundresses arrived in New York City, they were welcomed by the Dominican Sisters of Corpus Christi Monastery in Hunts Point in the South Bronx. They stayed with the Dominicans for four months before finding a rental property where they could establish the first Cenacle. The house was located at 523 West 142nd Street, and they stayed until 1894.

The 1895 St. Regis community.

This photo from 1895 shows the first and second groups of the New York community. The first group arrived in 1892 and the second group arrived in 1893. Front row, left to right: Mothers Jenny Bachelard, Christine de Grimaldi, Marie de La Chapelle. Back row: Sisters Françoise Ellien, Claire Schmeltz, Marie de Frontgous. The postulant in the black cap may be Sister Annie Cavanagh, who entered the St. Regis novitiate in September 1895.

1896 Belgium (Brussels)

The initiative to establish the Brussels community came from Jesuit priests. In October 1896, they suggested to the Cenacle Sisters that they purchase a house that was occupied by the sister-in-law of one of their members, a woman who was close to death. Two months later, the deed of purchase was signed. The first community began living in the house that very day. It consisted of Mothers Pauline de Vibraye (superior), Joséphine Buisson, Adèle de Baron, and Sister Léontine Chatet.

The Brussels house had been used as a Kneipp Institute (named after a priest and the method of care he developed) and was still occupied by Franciscan Sisters responsible for caring for those undergoing treatment. During the first few weeks, three of these sisters remained “to familiarize us with the customs of the country and Flemish cuisine” (Brussels House Journal).

Mother Pauline de Vibraye, first superior.

The house [after 1909], following the purchase of other houses to complement the first building and after various works, including the construction of a chapel.

In the history of the Congregation, this house holds a special place. Its foundation came at a critical time for religious congregations in France, which were threatened by the government’s anti-religious policies. Thus, in 1880, the General Council decided to pursue the project of establishing a foundation in England, as it would offer “a refuge for Our Sisters in case of expulsion.” The following year, Mother Marie Aimée Lautier, Superior General, discussed this with Pope Leo XIII: all future foundations “also aim to provide us with refuge abroad, in the event of dispersal.” When the religious sisters of France dispersed in 1901, the General Government found refuge in the house in Brussels. It remained there for almost 30 years. During this period, the house served as the setting for the General Chapters.

“Souvenir of the 1919 Chapter” for Mother de Montremy. From top to bottom: Mothers Cordonnier, de Boisanger d’Agliano, de Varax, Brachet, des Cordes, Marie-Thérèse Dognin, Breton, Marie Dognin, Billardon, Félicie et Marthe Rostaing, Paola Filippi, Vuillaume, Majoux, Rochette, de Laissardière, Pillet, Isabelle de Montgrand, Choquet, Rina Filippi, de Ricaumont, Maria Pia Maranzana.

1898 Switzerland (Fribourg)

The establishment of the Cenacle in Switzerland progressed slowly, despite the desire of its founder and benefactor to see this foundation established quickly.

Marie-Laure de Maillardoz, before her entry into the Cenacle (1829-1909).

At the end of 1893, Mother Marie Aimée Lautier, Superior General, received a visit from a 65-year-old widow, Madame de Maillardoz. Madame de Maillardoz shared with her that she had heard the call to join the Congregation during a retreat at the Cenacle in Lyon. She had known the Cenacle for a long time, as her childhood friend, Hélène de Ligonnès, had entered it in 1869. At the same time, she expressed her desire to see a foundation established in her hometown of Fribourg.

Once she became a novice, she settled her family affairs and was able to dispose of the portion of her fortune not going to her children. She then prepared to take her first vows. At the end of 1895, Mother Marie Aimée was therefore considering the foundation. She traveled to Fribourg to familiarize herself with the city and discuss opportunities for apostolic work with the bishop. Another factor weighed heavily in her mind, favoring a presence in this new country: the anti-clerical policies of the French government, which were pushing religious communities to provide refuge for their members in case of expulsion. But they had to act quickly before other congregations arrived in the city for this very purpose.

She thus sent three sisters to prepare for the foundation by searching for a house. Among them was Madame de Maillardoz, who had now taken her vows and was housing this small group. Soon afterward, Mother Marie Aimée was forced to send her away: Madame de Maillardoz found it difficult to adhere to the vow of obedience. Beneath the facade of a new sister, the independent woman who had for decades managed her life and family as she saw fit, easily reappeared.

She struggled to accept the caution and slowness with which this long-desired foundation was being established. She preferred that the Congregation buy a house, whereas the Congregation was choosing between two neighboring plots of land on which construction could take place. She therefore bought a house for the future of the community; then, seeing that nothing was happening and that she was being excluded from the foundation, she gave it to her daughter. Subsequently, she bought it back for the Congregation, along with a second neighboring house. The property thus formed bore the name Villa Miséricorde (Villa of Mercy).

The announcement of the foundation and the purchase of the land happened at the end of 1896. The sisters were not established in Fribourg until 1899. By that time, there were only a few sisters housed elsewhere in the city, and they were unable to begin a true apostolate of the Cenacle.

Read more (in French): Sr. Yolande Fontana rc, « Le Cénacle de Fribourg, 1899-1929. Un petit monde d’ouverture et de générosité pendant la “dispersion” et la première guerre mondiale », 2018

Download the document

1905 Netherlands (Tilburg)

For several years, the establishment of the Cenacle’s work in the diocese of Hertogenbosch where Tilburg was located had been strongly requested, particularly for the benefit of the many women working in local factories. However, the Congregation hesitated, faced with three difficulties. First, the Netherlands was a predominantly Protestant country. Tilburg, although Catholic, was a small town. But even more importantly, there was cultural barrier: there was only one Dutch sister, and the mission absolutely had to be conducted in Dutch.

Circular sent to the communities of the Congregation to announce and ask for prayers for the foundation of the house in Tilburg (recto-verso).

Despite these reservations, a first community modestly settled in a house belonging to Mother Eleonora Houben’s family. The apostolate began immediately and met with instant success. Faced with the influx of requests for retreats and the rapid growth of its works, the Congregation was convinced to establish the Cenacle of Tilburg permanently. Land was then purchased to construct buildings for the retreatants and the community, who were able to move in as early as 1908.

The house after the chapel was built in 1913.

Mother Houben, the first Dutch vocation, spent almost her entire religious life in England. Entering the Congregation in 1881, she was sent as superior to Manchester in 1891 and later died there. Her return to Tilburg between 1905 and 1913 to participate in the foundation was only a temporary mission. Her case was not unique: it was common for Dutch sisters to be sent to communities in countries where the Congregation was establishing itself.

Mother Houben (1854-1924).

1928 Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)

The foundation in Brazil was requested of the Cenacle from the early 1900s by friendly voices from Chile, Belgium, and Brazil itself. To one of these requesters, who persisted in 1910 and 1912, the Superior General, Mother Marie-Aimée Lautier, replied: “If Providence gives me a sign of Its will, I will carry it out. I would like that sign to be a novice.” At that time, the Figueira de Mello family from Petrópolis, friends of the Brazilian imperial family, were staying in Paris. The deposed Empress suggested to the young woman of the family, Marianna Figueira, to make a retreat at the Cenacle. Following this retreat, the young woman requested admission to the Congregation. She then met with the Superior General in Brussels, who welcomed her with these words: “You are the sign I have asked for.” The foundation project, put on hold during World War I, resurfaced in the 1920s. It was approved at the General Chapter in 1926 and came to fruition in 1928. Mother Marianna was among the group of founders, along with Mothers Provana and Larthe, and Sister Marie-Thérèse Destycker.

Marianna Figueira: the foundation’s awaited sign. On this album page, Mother Figueira appears, standing, in the photo at the top left.

After a three-week journey, the foundresses were welcomed in Rio at the end of May by the Sisters of the Assumption. However, the sisters’ remote location made finding a suitable house difficult. The foundresses therefore moved to the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul in June: the wimple of one of them can be seen in a photograph. They stayed there longer than expected: a house wasn’t found until October 1928.

Postcard of the Convent of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Rio, where the founders stayed while looking for a house.

1947 Canada (Toronto)

On All Saints Day (November 1), 1946, Sisters Anna Doherty and Katherine McCloskey traveled from the United States to Toronto to explore the possibility of establishing a Cenacle house in Canada. On November 2, they met with James Cardinal McGuigan, who welcomed the Cenacle to the archdiocese. All that remained was to find a property in the city that would make an ideal setting for a retreat house. No suitable house was found during this initial visit, nor on a subsequent visit in January 1947.

The first Cenacle house in Toronto, Canada.

In June 1947, Sisters Katherine McCloskey and Anna McCabe continued the search for the site of the new Toronto Cenacle. They inspected the Sifton mansion at the corner of Lawrence Avenue East (Number 318) and Bayview Street. Finally, they had found what they were looking for. Their offer was accepted by the Siftons, and on July 17, 1947, a day which marked the 55th anniversary of the arrival of the Cenacle pioneer sisters in New York City, a small group came to take possession of the first Cenacle retreat house in Canada. Making the trip were Sisters McCloskey and McCabe, as well as Sisters Elizabeth Clifford and Florentine Gonzalez. Unfortunately, Sister Gonzalez was refused admission into Canada because she did not have the appropriate paperwork. A native of Spain, Sister Gonzalez had lived in the United States for many years before entering the Cenacle, where she had served faithfully for 25 years. The sisters had assumed her baptismal certificate would be sufficient to allow her to cross the border, but she was denied entry and had to get off the train to return to New York City. Sister Elizabeth Clifford went with her, and only Sisters McCloskey and McCabe traveled onward to Toronto. A week later, reinforcements arrived, and the Canadian Cenacle began to flourish.

Sister Anna McCabe and Cardinal McGuigan together at the Toronto Cenacle house at 318 Lawrence Avenue, circa 1947.

The early community in Toronto circa 1949.

Pictured back row, left to right: Sisters Mary Flynn, Anna McCabe (Superior of the Toronto Cenacle) and Jeanne Grasso. Middle row (one step down): Sisters Mary Sinnott and Mary Maurer. Lower row: Sisters Esperanza Sampson and Benedicta Gorman, and in front is Sister Bertha Anne Thackray. Also pictured are two Sisters of Holy Cross of Montreal.

1948 Madagascar (Antananarivo)

The idea of a foundation in a mission territory was suggested to the Cenacle by Pope Pius XI and slowly took root within the Congregation. World War II delayed its realization, but in 1948, it took shape and materialized on the Red Island. The foundresses then embarked on an epic sea voyage. They were: Mother Boissard, Mothers Chardon and Laporte-Many, and Sisters Asella and Martine.

Departure of the Madagascar foundresses

Upon their arrival, the sisters discovered the house chosen by Mother Boissard during a previous visit: “a European house in the middle of a garden where there is a Malagasy dwelling, (…) next to the [Jesuit] Fathers’ college, and as accessible to the French colony as to the indigenous people.”

The Cenacle of Tananarive

Work was undertaken in the following years to enlarge the premises. But even as they were, they were already habitable and had been prepared by the Sisters of Providence: “The house has only one floor, surrounded by a veranda (the same on the ground floor), which then resembled a small convent cloister…After climbing three steps, we are in the vestibule, then we enter: on the right, two rooms that will serve as parlors; at the back, separated by a door, the dishwashing area and kitchen…On the left, on the facade, an enclosed veranda, then a large room with wood paneling and waxed parquet flooring, a beautiful carved wooden fireplace, and in the center, a very fine chandelier; at the back, a door leading to the chapel…Everything in the chapel and in the house is on loan to us, either from the Jesuit Fathers or from the Sisters of Providence…On the first floor: seven bedrooms, a large room, and an enclosed veranda…All of this, fitted out with partitions, will allow us to soon receive retreatants, and there is land for building.”

This marked the beginning of a fruitful apostolate: the first Malagasy novices arrived in 1954.

Letter from the foundresses describing their arrival at the house

The first four young women to take the habit in Madagascar (February, 11, 1954) : Sisters Marie-Ernestine (Ernestine Rasoazanadrafara), Marie-Aimée (Hélène Razanajao), Marie-Blandine (Blandine Razanadrasoa), Marie-Bernard (Thérèse Rasoazanamanana). Source : MM, B-MA-TAN (1).

1953 New Zealand (Auckland)

In September 1949, Archbishop Peter McKeefry of Wellington visited the Cenacle motherhouse in Paris. During his visit, he formally invited the sisters to establish a Cenacle retreat house in Auckland. In February 1950, Sisters Anna Doherty and Helen Lynch from the Eastern Province of North America traveled to Auckland to see whether it would be feasible to found a Cenacle there. Sister Helen Lynch was an expatriate New Zealander who had moved with her family to the United States; she had a long-cherished dream to see the establishment of a Cenacle community in her homeland. Bishop James Liston of Auckland personally drove the sisters around to show them the potential for a successful retreat ministry. The sisters were convinced, and in 1953, the first Cenacle in New Zealand was founded in Glen Innes at 268 West Tamaki Road, a beautiful property overlooking the Tamaki Estuary.

The first Cenacle house in Auckland, New Zealand

In 1963, the New Zealand Cenacle newsletter, entitled simply The Cenacle, published an issue commemorating the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Cenacle in Auckland by chronicling the first days of the foundation. Here we see two pages of that issue. The illustration on the left shows how the Cenacle Sisters’ purchase of the house in Glen Innes made the newspapers, and the illustration on the right shows a car loaded down with the sisters’ belongings making its way from their temporary home with the Sisters of Mercy at Mater Hospital to the new Cenacle house on West Tamaki Road.

Celebration of the New Zealand foundation in the 1963 edition of “The Cenacle”

In 2003, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Cenacle in New Zealand, Sister Lillian Beaudry shared some memories of the first days in Auckland. “In 1953 four sisters from the U.S. made this long trip to N.Z. I could call us the 4 B’s as we were named Bishop, Bowden, Bridge, and Beaudry. We could also be called the foundation community along with Sisters White and Barbara O’Brien. A little later Sisters Jill Raphael and Helen Strain joined us for the first Mass at Auckland Cenacle for September 8, 1953.”

1953 Foundation Community in Auckland

Sisters in the photo, from left to right: Lillian Beaudry, Helen Strain, Barbara O’Brien, Elizabeth White, Mabel Bishop, Doris Bowden, Jill Raphael, and Mary Bridge.

1954 Ireland (Killiney)

It would take three offers, spread out over 60 years, for the foundation in Ireland to finally become a reality.

In 1891, Mother Marie Aimée Lautier, Superior General, tasked Mother de Grimaldi with studying the feasibility of establishing a foundation in Ireland, where the Congregation was being called upon by lay people. However, the study did not lead to a foundation. Instead, Mother de Grimaldi was sent to found the first house in the United States, in New York. In 1922, a second offer of a foundation was made, but it came to nothing. The third time was the charm.

On September 16, 1953, Archbishop McQuaid C.S.Sp. of Dublin visited the Cenacle in Paris to offer a property.

“The four foundresses. Killiney. February 1954”

The four foundresses settled in early 1954 in a house they had purchased in Killiney, a coastal suburb of Dublin. They were Mothers Kathleen Reid (Superior) and Joan Harrow, and Sisters Lucina Egan and Walburga Bradshaw.

News from the community sent to the Generalate reported a promising start to their apostolate. The Sisters were also delighted with the setting. “All who visit us feel that this is an ideal place for retreats. God is always present in nature, and the gardens have provided us with a whole series of surprises…” The abundant production of fruits and vegetables allowed them to share some with their neighbor, the Archbishop. In return, he gave them a bottle of milk from his cows every day! (Circular of news from the Congregation sent to the communities, September 29, 1954).

The house in August 1955, with Mother Peggy Pascoe and Sister Walburga Bradshaw.

“View from the corridors on the 1st floor of the Killiney Cenacle”, 1953.

1966 Peru (Lima)

Responding to the appeal of Archbishop Carboni, Papal Nuncio in Lima, the sisters of the newly formed Northeast Province in North America came to Peru in 1966.

On March 19, 1966, Mother Florence Murphy, the Northeast Provincial, and the five foundresses of the Lima Cenacle took possession of the house at 3420 Avenida Arequipa, San Isidro. The first song in the house was the invocation to St. Joseph. In the big garden, the sisters found a fig tree full of ripe fruit of deep purple, a Cenacle color.
The day after arriving at the house in Lima, the sisters began cleaning and making necessary repairs in preparation for the blessing ceremony on April 23, 1966. In the illustrations below, Sister Mary Lou Powell, one of the founding sisters in Lima, humorously depicted the work of readying the house for its first public guests.

The first Cenacle retreat house in Lima, Peru

First cartoon with the worker on a ladder: “Wait—Mother’s changing her mind.”

Second cartoon with sisters at the sink: “Sister, you have a little bit of paint on you!”

The much-anticipated Blessing of the House by the Cardinal occurred on April 23, 1966. In the photo above we can see left to right, Sisters Aida Robles, Saturia Gutierrez, Grace Doyle, John Cardinal Landazuri Ricketts, Sisters Mary Lou Powell and Gina Terrazas. “The Cardinal stood in front of our altar and delivered a beautiful talk about the Cenacle…He introduced our house as a new cause for joy and another sign of Christ’s presence among us. In an epoch of superficiality and of excessive movement, a house like this, inviting women to reflection and prayer, is badly needed.”

The Lima founding community with Cardinal Landazuri Ricketts

1967 Philippines (Quezon City)

In 1957, Angelina Villanueva of the Philippines wrote to Sister Genevieve Donahue, superior of the Wayzata Cenacle in Minnesota, United States, requesting to enter the Cenacle as a postulant. Angelina had known Father John P. Delaney, S.J., while he was chaplain of UPSCA, University of the Philippines Student Catholic Action. She had heard him speak about the Cenacle Sisters and their apostolate of retreats. He had wanted to bring the Cenacle to the Philippines, but he died in 1956 before his desire could be realized. Angelina felt that God was calling her to religious life, and to the Cenacle, so she wrote to Sister Donahue, whom Father Delaney had met while giving retreats at the Boston Cenacle before going to the Philippines.
With the approval of the Midwest Provincial Mother Ida Barlow, Angelina Villanueva entered the Cenacle in September 1957 at Ronkonkoma, New York. In April 1958, Felicidad Villareal, who had also been a student of Father Delaney, joined her. That fall, Vicenta Saniel, Lily Quintos, and Purificacion Bautista entered the novitiate as well. Mother Barlow, watching this development, recognized the hand of God. “When they make their final vows,” she said, “we go to the Philippines.”

The six Philippines foundresses at the Cenacle in Carmichael, California

On October 11,1967, the Philippines foundresses gathered at the Cenacle in Carmichael, California, before heading to San Francisco to board the ship to the Philippines. The six founding community members were (from left to right) Sisters Lily Quintos, Felicidad Villareal, Margaret Byrne, Purificacion Bautista, Angelina Villanueva, and Vicenta Saniel.

Sisters Purificacion Bautista and Margaret Byrne on board the S.S. President Wilson waved goodbye to the sisters on the San Francisco dock

On October 12, 1967, the six Philippines foundresses boarded the S.S. President Wilson to begin the voyage to Manila. In October 2025, Sister Bautista wrote about the trip: “I still remember that moment when so many of us passengers all stood on deck as the S.S. President Wilson went under the Golden Gate Bridge, which slowly faded into the dusk. Our first stop, Honolulu, we reached only after FOUR days (now two hours by plane!). The six of us had six bunk beds in a cabin the size of our old bedrooms at 513 [the Cenacle at 513 West Fullerton in Chicago, Illinois]! We sailed 21 days on the wide Pacific Ocean at a time of year when it was the worst time to sail on it–sea storms season. We found out after we ran into one for three days between Yokohama, Japan, and Hong Kong. Arrived at Manila Port on November 1st, 1967, for the first Asian/Philippine Cenacle foundation.”

The Philippines foundresses on Christmas Day 1967

Taken on Christmas Day 1967, this photo shows the Philippines founding community sitting squeezed into a Jeep in front of the first Cenacle in Quezon City, a rented house at 1 Mayaman Street, Diliman, University of Philippines Village.
In finding a more permanent home, the Sisters were greatly helped by Father Ortiz, S.J., who through his connections found in January of 1968 an available property in Nicanor Reyes. The Sisters also hoped to acquire another property that could serve as living quarters for the Sisters since they did not think that it would be good for the Sisters to be living with the retreatants. Soon after acquiring the Nicanor property, the Sisters were informed that a nearby property was available. It was adjacent to the Nicanor property and could be connected by a passageway. Once the Salvador house was acquired, the Sisters began moving out of the Mayaman house.

The Cenacle Retreat House

The dedication of the retreat house was done on June 2, 1968, Pentecost Sunday, where the Eucharist was celebrated by Father Matt Sanchez, S.J. in the morning, and the blessing of the place was done by Father Horacio de la Costa, S.J., who was the Provincial Superior then. An open house for all the other guests, family members, friends who could not be accommodated to the house dedication happened the next day, June 3, 1968.

The Cenacle Retreat House at 59 Nicanor Reyes Street, Quezon City

The dedication of the Cenacle Retreat House at 59 Nicanor Reyes Street, June 1968

1969 Argentina (Buenos Aires)

On March 5, 1969, Sister Margaret Byrne, Provincial of the Midwestern Province of North America, wrote to Coadjutor Archbishop Juan Carlos Aramburu of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, accepting his invitation to begin apostolic work in Argentina. She proposed to send two sisters on an experimental basis for two years.

On August 20, 1969, a telegram from Archbishop Juan Carlos Aramburu to Sister Margaret Byrne welcomed the arrival of Sisters Elizabeth Galbraith and Marie Vandenbergh to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Archdiocese provided the Cenacle Sisters with a large country house that would be suitable for the work of retreats after renovation. While “El Cenáculo” was remodeled, Sisters Galbraith and Vandenbergh stayed for a time with the Sisters of Little Company of Mary Hospital, the LCM Hospital referred to in the telegram.

A telegram from Archbishop Aramburu to Sister Margaret Byrne

Archbishop Aramburu with Sister Vandenbergh (first photo)

Archbishop Aramburu with Sister Galbraith (second photo)

In October 1970, the renovations to the promised retreat house were completed, and Sisters Galbraith and Vandenbergh moved into the Casa de Retiro “El Cenáculo,” located near Pilar outside Buenos Aires. This map, found in a 1971 brochure, gives explicit directions for how to reach the Cenacle house at Casilla de Correo 2.

A map showing the directions to the Cenacle Retreat House in Pilar, Argentina

1980 Australia (Brisbane)

In the late 1970’s, at the request of Archbishop Francis Rush of Brisbane, Australia, Sister Rita Foy, the Superior General of the Cenacle Sisters, agreed that the congregation would make a foundation in Brisbane. The Cenacle sisters in New Zealand would provide the personnel for the new venture. In 1979 Sister Kathleen Ryan, the Regional Superior in New Zealand, and Sister Pat Clouston traveled to Brisbane to meet with Archbishop Rush and to look for sites that would be appropriate for a retreat house. After two weeks of searching, they had almost decided that God did not want them to find a property at that moment, but the Archdiocesan Secretary, Dan Flynn, said that there was a place in Ormiston next door to the Carmelite Sisters. The property was called St. Joseph’s Field and was an ideal location: it sloped down to Moreton Bay, was easy to reach, and was in a quickly developing area. The Cenacle Sisters purchased the property from the Carmelite Sisters, but the construction of a retreat house did not begin until September 1983.

A newspaper article about the new Cenacle foundation in Australia included photos of Sisters Pat Clouston, Kathleen Ryan, Doris Blackledge, and Clare O’Connor.

On March 7, 1980, Sisters Kathleen Ryan, Pat Clouston, Clare O’Connor, and Doris Blackledge arrived in Brisbane and were given the use of an old parish house in the Clayfield area. Sister Ryan traveled onward to Rome on March 22, and after two months of helping to set up the community, Sister Blackledge returned to New Zealand. This left a community of two: Sisters Clouston and O’Connor. For four years they worked out of the house in Clayfield giving directed retreats and days of prayer as well as leading Home Retreats in the parishes of Brisbane and giving weekend retreats in the outlying countryside areas of the city.

The January 1980 letter from Regional Superior of New Zealand Kathleen Ryan included the first temporary address of the sisters in Brisbane.

Construction of the Cenacle retreat house in Ormiston, a suburb of Brisbane, was completed in May 1984. The ceremony of blessing and opening the house was held on Pentecost Sunday, June 10, 1984. Two hundred guests from all over the archdiocese attended the opening, with Archbishop Rush officiating.

A 1984 flyer announcing the blessing and opening of the new Cenacle house in Australia.

1990 Ghana (Kumasi)

In 1988, Superior General Barbara Ehrler received a request from a priest of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) for the Cenacle Sisters to collaborate in the life and ministry of a center for spiritual renewal in Ghana, West Africa. This request was echoed by Monsignor Sarpong, the Bishop of the diocese of Kumasi. While not technically a foundation because the sisters were joining an already established spiritual renewal center, the mission in Ghana resonated with the resolutions from the General Chapter of 1986, where the sisters were called to “live internationality as an openness of heart; an openness which goes beyond nationalism, enables us to accept the diversity of mentalities and cultures, and share our riches and poverty.” In August 1990, three Cenacle Sisters were missioned to the Centre for Spiritual Renewal in Kumasi, Ghana. Sisters Rita Anne Houlihan and Anelie Arao were from the North American Provinces, and Sister Helen Grealy was from the England-Ireland Province. These three sisters joined an international and intercongregational community of religious men and women in managing the center.

The Cenacle missionaries to Ghana gathered in Rome, Italy in 1990

The first Cenacle Sisters missioned to Ghana gathered at the Generalate in Rome prior to traveling to Ghana. From left to right: Sisters Anelie Arao, Rita Anne Houlihan, and Helen Grealy.

The Cenacle Sisters assumed responsibility for the Centre for Spiritual Renewal in 1993, which meant that the sisters provided a director and a nucleus of ministry staff, all while maintaining an intercongregational and international staff of religious men and women. By this time, Sisters Arao, Houlihan, and Grealy had been joined by a fourth Cenacle Sister, Siobhan Sheridan from the England-Ireland Province. Sister Sheridan was named the director of the center in April 1993. When one or two sisters left, new sisters joined: Sisters Patricia Chalmers (England-Ireland Province) and Mary Spratt (Eastern Province of North America). In 2000, the Cenacle Sisters ended the mission in Ghana due to a shortage of personnel.

The Centre for Spiritual Renewal, Kumasi, Ghana, circa 1990

1996 Togo (Vogan)

In 1992, encouraged by Father Victor Hounnaké, director of Catholic education in Togo, two young Togolese women drawn to religious life went to France to discover the apostolate of the Cenacle Congregation. Among them was Sister Toussainte Djondo, who has since joined the Congregation. This first step was received by the French-Swiss Province and the entire Congregation as a calling. It was followed by regular correspondence with Togo, culminating in an explicit invitation in 1994 from the archbishops of Lomé and Aného to establish a Cenacle in Togo.

Photograph with Sr. Ghislaine Côté and Mgr. Hounnaké.

Photograph of a fresco of the Cenacle in the cathedral of Kpalimé

Sister Ghislaine Côté, superior of the France-Switzerland Province, embarked on her first exploratory trip in January 1995. The discovery of a fresco depicting the Cenacle in the Kpalimé Cathedral and the warmth of the welcome she received were seen as signs from God, confirming her desire to establish a new Cenacle in Togo. Thus, despite the death of Bishop Hounnaké in the summer of 1995, the project continued under his successor, Bishop Dossavi.

In September 1996, three Sisters were missioned : Sister Marguerite Razafimbololona from Madagascar, and Sisters Simone Daneels and Marie-Jo Isnard from France. Their mission : to live two years of learning and apostolic experimentation exploration before making a real foundation.

The three foundresses

They settled in a small house loaned by the diocese in Vogan: while the location was good, the cramped quarters meant they couldn’t accommodate many people, and the noise from the town was bothersome.

After ten years of presence, and once the Congregation had obtained legal recognition from Togo, it was time to build a proper spiritual retreat center in Pedakondji. Inaugurated in 2014 after seven years of construction, it is now run by about ten sisters and its influence extends beyond the country’s borders.

First Cenacle in Togo

The Cenacle in Togo today

1997 Singapore

Thirty years after the first Philippine Cenacle foundation started, the Singapore Cenacle was opened in 1997. Several Filipina Cenacle Sisters (Sisters Linda Lizada, Guia Jambalos, Teresita Soriano and one Australian sister, Sr. Pat Clouston,r.c.) had been going to Singapore for years before this to give talks, seminars, and retreats. Sister Francisca Tan, the first Singaporean vocation, actively assisted as laywoman during these programs. This was how she met the Cenacle. In June 1997 she made final vows at her home parish of the Church of St. Theresa in Singapore. Soon after in July 1997, upon the invitation of Archbishop Gregory Yong, the Cenacle set up a foundation there composed initially of Sister Francisca Tan and Sister Emma Exconde. The archdiocese gave the Cenacle a place to stay in Jurong West. By September 1998, Sister Hazel Suarez was missioned to Singapore, soon followed by Sister Emma Garcia when Sister Francisca went to the United States for studies.

Article from Catholic News Singapore (14 December 1997)

By April 1999, the Cenacle signed a 2-year contract to rent the second floor of the novitiate building of the Religious of the Good Shepherd on Thomson Road, which then became the Cenacle Retreat Center. By 2000 Sister Mari Ramos became a member of the community. The Sisters have been giving seminars and retreats not only in Singapore, but also in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries where the Cenacle has been invited.

Cenacle House at Jurong West in 1997

Bishop Gregory Yong of Singapore visits the Cenacle with Srs. Emma Exconde and Francisca Tan (4 December 1997)

Back to map️