by Sr. Noeleen Mooney MMM                       Ireland                               20.10.2024

This year, 2024, marks the fifteen hundredth anniversary of the death of Saint Brigid – a mid-boggling fact.

As a native of Kildare, I decided to make my annual retreat in Solas Bhride Christian Spirituality Centre, run by the Brigidine Sisters in Kildare town. In coming apart, I hoped to re-ignite in myself some of the flame which Brigid kindled, and which is very much alive in this place of prayer.

i stayed in one of the three hermitages on the grounds and self-catered with all the facilities provided. The grounds are very nature-friendly and as I ate my breakfast, I watched the rabbits outside my window nibbling theirs!

Also on the grounds is a labyrinth – ideal for slow meditation, a mini oak grove, formed from saplings planted in 2007 from the original oak tree in Tullow which was planted at the founding of the Brigidine Sisters in 1807.

The Centre itself is built in the shape of a St. Brigid’s Cross and is available to individuals and groups for all kinds of gatherings connected to the legacy of St. Brigid – spirituality, peace-making, care of creation, advocacy for the poor, and legendary hospitality, wonderfully carried out by the present Sisters and staff. St. Brigid’s flame is being tended in the Centre since it was re-lit in Kildare town in 1993 and burns as a beacon of hope, justice and peace for our world.

I visited the two St. Brigid’s wells nearby – one beside the National Stud – and was drawn into the mystery and call of holy wells. Daily Mass was celebrated in St. Brigid’s parish church, a fifteen-minute walk from the Centre, or in White Abbey, home of the Carmelite Fathers.
As a place of peace, solitude and prayer, I highly recommend it!