The work of the Church of Saint Peter in Chains has been supported by two communities of nuns, the Congregation of the Sisters of Misericorde and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.
A
set of remarkable coincidences led to the arrival of the Misericorde Sisters.
At the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945), empty accomodation was liable to
be requisitioned by the Government for military purposes. The Franciscan Sisters,
based in Glasgow, had a summer house at 22 Montgomerie Crescent, Saltcoats that
was used only in the warmer months of the year. Fearing that it would be requisitioned
with the potential of damage, Father Michael O'Connor, Parish Priest of the Church
of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Saltcoats advised the Sisters to make more use
of the house. Days later, Misericorde House, the London Convent was bombed. An
enquiry about accomodation was made to the Franciscans in Glasgow. They immediately
offered their Saltcoats house to the Misericorde nuns. Sister Alexandrin, Sister
Hilda and Sister Oswald were among the first to arrive. They spent the war years
in Saltcoats and returned to London after Misericorde House was repaired. The
Sisters wanted to come back to the Saltcoats area so they made enquiries about
a suitable house to Father O'Connor. Monsignor
Archibald McSparran, the Parish Priest of the Church of Saint Peter in Chains
had his presbytery in half of a large house at 9 South Crescent Road, Ardrossan.
The other half, number 10, which housed wounded soldiers and Belgian refugees
during the war, was for sale. In October 1945, application was made from the French
Mother House of the Sisters of Misericorde to the Archbishop of Glasgow for permission
to open a new house in Ardrossan. On 6 May 1946, Archbishop Campbell replied agreeing
to the request. In May 1947, some members of the Congregation set up their convent
at 10 South Crescent Road under the leadership of Mother Vincent Ferrier, the
first Mother Superior. The inside of the house was painted in exactly the same
colour as at their French houses. When Saint Peter's new presbytery was opened
in 1957, the nuns took over the whole building. Many of the nuns were trained
nurses who tended the sick of Ardrossan and neighbouring towns regardless of religion.
They became known as the 'Nursing Sisters' and travelled by foot, on bicycle and
on moped. Each
year, on 30 November, the feast of Saint Andrew, the nuns invited benefactors
and friends to Benediction in their small Chapel in the Convent to celebrate being
in Scotland. In 1977, the sisters sold their convent and moved to a smaller house
in Irvine. In September 1983, they left Scotland completely and returned to the
Mother House at Sees in France.Sisters who worked in Ardrossan over the years included:
Sister Agatha
Sister Alexandrin (-1942)
Sister Bernadette
Sister Hilda (-1975)
Sister Leontine (-1960)
Sister Marie Alexis
Sister Marie Ismael
Sister Mary of the Sacred Heart later Sister Catherine
Sister Mary Patrick (-1975)
Sister Oswald (-1968)
Sister Peter Patrick
Sister Vincent
Mother Vincent Ferrier
The photograph on the right shows Sister Marie Alexis, Sister Peter Patrick and Sister Bernadette in the grounds of the Misericorde Convent in 1963. Other photographs of the Sisters are on the Pictures page.
The
Franciscan Sisters came to Ardrossan in March 1982 at the request of Father
Michael Lynch. They initially lived in a house at 46 Stanley Road. The first
three nuns were Sister Mary Annunciata, Sister Vincent and Sister Pius. In May
1986, they moved to 23-25 McKellar Avenue where they resided until September 1999.