It was 125 years ago that Sisters of Charity arrived in Bermuda.

The Catholic order of nuns founded Mount St Agnes Academy and provided the Island with spiritual leadership.

The milestone will be marked with a solemn mass at St Patrick’s Church in Smith’s tomorrow.

Bishop Robert Kurtz, Father Vladimir Sobolewski and Father Joseph Morley will lead the 11am mass, which will feature a special choir mostly made up of Mount St Agnes alumni.

There will also be a reception immediately following in the church.

Sister Judith Rollo — one of two Sisters left on the Island — shared a little more about the importance of the anniversary.

Why did Sisters of Charity come to Bermuda?

The Sisters came to Bermuda as the direct result of the persistence of Father Bellord.

He was the military Chaplain of the Officers of the Garrison, including the Irish Rifles, who had three times petitioned [Mother Cleophas] to send Sisters to teach the children of the Irish Regiment stationed in Bermuda.

All three times Mother Cleophas refused as she had too few Sisters to acquiesce to the request. She also felt Bermuda was too far away.

Ironically, when Mother Cleophas left office, her successor, Mother Mary Bonaventure, with the prompting of Archbishop O’Brien, agreed and promptly sent Mother Cleophas and three other Sisters, accompanied by an orphan girl, to establish a school for girls in Bermuda.

What are some of the organisation’s great accomplishments here?

It was on February 15, 1890, that Mother Cleophas, Sisters Mary Philippa, Mary Blanche, Maria Agnes and an orphan girl, Elizabeth Archibald, boarded the ship Alpha to set sail for Bermuda.

Since the ship docked in 1890, the Sisters answered their call to serve God’s people here on the Island, which has continued to this day.

Throughout the 125-year presence of the Sisters of Charity here in Bermuda, their influence reached far beyond the walls of Mount St Agnes Academy.

In the early days, the Sisters walked North Shore gathering the Portuguese children who did not attend school so that they could be taught religion.

Among the ministries over the years included teaching women prisoners, developing a structured religious education programme for Government schoolchildren, the giving of retreats and the planning of special liturgies, as well as ministering to the sick and dying.

This was very notable when, amid terrible living conditions, the Sisters were quarantined on Nonsuch Island.

This happened after the ship they had arrived on had sailors diagnosed as possibly having small pox.

The Sisters carefully ministered to all during that time. They themselves experienced many hardships beginning with all four of the Sisters being struck with typhoid fever during their first experience of a Bermuda summer.

In 1914, the Sisters were returning from Halifax when they suffered a terrible shipwreck, but were indeed rescued.

The mission also continued in spite of bad weather conditions. The 1925 hurricane was so severe that Mother Mary Louise considered closing the mission. However, God’s providence has prevailed and Sisters of Charity continue to serve the people of this beautiful Island.

What have the Sisters been up to recently?

There are now only two Sisters left on the Island — Sister Dolores [Sullivan] and myself, Sister Judith.

Since retiring from Mount St Agnes Academy in 2005, we have established our home, Caritas, as a house of prayer with quiet Wednesdays, when anyone may come to our home and spend time in prayer and reflection.

We also have monthly evening prayer, retreat days and every two years organise a women’s weekend retreat.

We minister to the sick and homebound, those in nursing homes and visit King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on Mondays and Thursdays. We occasionally substitute at Mount Saint Agnes and tutor children and teens.

Sister Dolores teaches a young man who was deprived of an education and who is making magnificent progress.

What does this special occasion mean to you personally?

Having been in Bermuda since 1968, I had a deep desire to be here for the turn of the century, so to have this special anniversary is very significant for me.

Sister Dolores and I will stay here as long as our health allows.

Why do you hope people will come out to celebrate this occasion with you?

In religious life people come and go in and out of our lives, so this is an opportunity to hopefully see some of our past students and their parents whom we do not see often and maybe not at all.