Eight Kids, Eight Religious Vocations.

[Spem in alium]

I came across this article in the Australian Catholic Weekly newspaper. :)

 

 

Five nuns and three priests from one family

By Sharyn McCowen

 

 

 William Creede was the second youngest of eight children, all of whom aspired to answer the call of God and pursue a religious vocation, and did. 

With the death of his younger sister in January, Fr William, 86, became the last surviving member of the family of five Sisters and three priests. 

Even their father, after the death of his wife, sought to enter the Franciscans. He died before joining but was buried in their habit. 

Although saddened at being the last of the children, Fr William is comforted by his family’s extraordinary story and the lifelong commitment to religious life. 

William Sr moved the family to Australia from Ireland in 1928 in search of a warmer climate to ease his wife’s ailing health. 

At just 18 months, William Jr was the youngest to make the voyage. The eighth sibling, Bernadette, was born in Australia. 

The family settled in Brisbane, where the two eldest girls, Aina (Sr Mary Clement) and Moira (Sr Canice) joined the Presentation Sisters in Longreach. 

Thomas and William Jr joined the Redemptorists, and a third brother became a Vincentian. 

Therese (Sr Alphonsus) and Bernadette joined the Presentation Sisters in Wagga. 

Breidha (Sr Christina) would go on to join the Sisters of Mercy at Parramatta, where the Christina Creede Music Centre at Our Lady of Mercy College is named in her honour. 

As the sole Mercy Sister in a family of four Pres­entations, Breidha “insisted she was not the odd one out, but the one to give polish and shine to the rest of us”, Fr William recalls. 

“So we called her Polish and Shine!” 

A treasured photograph taken in Brisbane in 1935 captured the last time the family would be together before William Sr, his wife and the six youngest children moved to Sydney. 

The family was devastated when Aina died from illness in Sydney on her 21st birthday. 

“I was 13 when Aina died, and we were at the gravesite at Rookwood,” Fr William said. Therese was a year ahead of me, and I’ll never forget, as we turned away she said: ‘I’m going to take her place’. 

“She was only 14. And she took her place in life and in death, because she entered Wagga Presentations, and when she died she was buried in Aina’s grave at Rookwood.” 

So strong was the family devotion that their mother, Mary Christina, was buried in the habit of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. 

Fr William said his father was “very proud” to have witnessed all eight of his children entering religious life. 

“We were always a very happy family, crazy at times,” he said. 

Though his parents never pushed the children into vocations, they led by example with their unwavering devotion to the faith. 

“We said the rosary every night, and we used to say it in Irish sometimes,” Fr William says. 

“Daddy was at Mass and Holy Communion every morning. 

“The three small children, Bernadette, Therese and myself, if we were very good through the week our reward was that Mummy would take us back for a second Mass on Sunday. That was our reward, and we looked forward to it. 

“Fancy saying that to kids today!” 

It’s only now that Fr William fully appreciates their childhood so enriched with the faith that it produced eight vocations. 

“It’s an incredible story,” he said. “We just took it for granted.” 

As he committed to his order and travelled to missions around the world, Fr William often wrote to his siblings but they rarely reunited. 

When Therese died, the three Fr Creedes concelebrated the Requiem Mass and the three Sr Creedes carried the offertory. 

Fr William now finds himself without a next generation to carry on the family name in Australia. 

“I’m the only one left. It’s a terrible feeling,” he said. 

“It’s tragic. I’ve got not a soul out here belonging to me, they’re all in Ireland.”

 

Edited May 8, 2013 by Spem in alium

[nikita92]

What a inspiration and heart warming story!! My heart goes out to Fr Creede as to not having any remaining family members left where he is.

[AnneLine]

_{Unfortunately I can't get access to the photo any longer... the Carmelite Fathers have taken it down.} 

 

_{However, when Bro. Boniface Scheerer, OCD died, the Carmelites posted a photo of five Discalced Carmelite Friars, two Dominican Friars, and three Dominican Sisters with this caption:}

 

<sub>"All of +Bro. Boniface's siblings had entered religious life. Five were Discalced Carmelite Friars, two were Dominican Friars (one eventually a bishop) and three Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci. The picture shows Bro. Boniface's ...family on the occasion of his brother Louis' ordination to the episcopacy. When they were presented to Pope John XXIII he exclaimed, "ONE MAMMA?!?!" Yes, your Holiness, one mamma."

(From the Western Province of Discalced Carmelite Father's Facebook page, July 2010)</sub>
 

 

[Spem in alium]

_{Unfortunately I can't get access to the photo any longer... the Carmelite Fathers have taken it down.} 

 

_{However, when Bro. Boniface Scheerer, OCD died, the Carmelites posted a photo of five Discalced Carmelite Friars, two Dominican Friars, and three Dominican Sisters with this caption:}

 

<sub>"All of +Bro. Boniface's siblings had entered religious life. Five were Discalced Carmelite Friars, two were Dominican Friars (one eventually a bishop) and three Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci. The picture shows Bro. Boniface's ...family on the occasion of his brother Louis' ordination to the episcopacy. When they were presented to Pope John XXIII he exclaimed, "ONE MAMMA?!?!" Yes, your Holiness, one mamma."

(From the Western Province of Discalced Carmelite Father's Facebook page, July 2010)</sub>
 

 

 

Wow. That's so great!  :woot:  :like3:

[Chiquitunga]

_{Unfortunately I can't get access to the photo any longer... the Carmelite Fathers have taken it down.} 

 

_{However, when Bro. Boniface Scheerer, OCD died, the Carmelites posted a photo of five Discalced Carmelite Friars, two Dominican Friars, and three Dominican Sisters with this caption:}

 

<sub>"All of +Bro. Boniface's siblings had entered religious life. Five were Discalced Carmelite Friars, two were Dominican Friars (one eventually a bishop) and three Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine de Ricci. The picture shows Bro. Boniface's ...family on the occasion of his brother Louis' ordination to the episcopacy. When they were presented to Pope John XXIII he exclaimed, "ONE MAMMA?!?!" Yes, your Holiness, one mamma."

(From the Western Province of Discalced Carmelite Father's Facebook page, July 2010)</sub>

 

found it from one of your old posts (sorry I couldn't get it any bigger for some reason)

 

Edited May 8, 2013 by Chiquitunga

[AnneLine]

Thank you!   I couldn't get it bigger at the time... and I couldn't get it to 'open' when I found the quote.

 

If you 'search' for 'Boniface Scheerer' you can find a lot about these the OCD Friars... and I believe at least some of them spent time  in Austrailia and the Philippines.

[MarysLittleFlower]

what a beautiful family :)

[elizabeth09]

Thank you for sharing.  I think that out of a family of eight, all eight enter either became nuns or priest.