By Neil Sayer, Archdiocesan Archivist

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The Sisters of the Cenacle said farewell to Liverpool last month. Archbishop Sherrington celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at the Lance Lane Convent on Saturday 4 October.

 

Whilst acknowledging “the shadow of sadness because a chapter is ending and the convent closing”, he thanked the Sisters for assisting so many people to achieve a deepened spirituality. Quoting from Laudato Si’, he noted Pope Francis’ advocacy for a contemplative life, a “serene attentiveness … which accepts each moment as a gift from God to be lived to the full.” For many people, that will be one legacy of the Sisters’ presence in the archdiocese: “If we hold fast to this spirituality, I think we will be honouring the memory of the ministry of the cenacle lived here for 117 years”, said the Archbishop.

 

The Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle opened a convent on Lance Lane, Wavertree on 20 May 1908. It was the nuns’ third foundation in England, following the opening of convents in Manchester and London. The order originated in France in 1826, as numerous pilgrims flocked to the tomb of St Regis in the Ardèche region near the Alps. Father Jean Pierre Etienne Terme and Marie Victoire Couderc realised the need for a hospice in their parish of La Louvesc. They built a large house to welcome female pilgrims, and Marie Victoire became its first Superior, known as Mère Thérèse. Very soon, the founders saw that the convenience of pilgrims was not a sufficiently spiritual purpose, and that guests would benefit from religious exercises and instruction. So was born the idea of the Cenacle, where retreats and religious instruction became a means of reviving faith and furthering the kingdom of God.

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Cenacle comes from the Latin ‘cena’ meaning ‘supper’ and refers to the room in Jerusalem where Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and where Our Lady waited with the apostles and disciples for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

 

In the busy port and industrial city of Liverpool, the convent soon established itself as a haven. A report published only two years after it opened noted that “Since its very beginning, it has seemed destined to become a favourite rendezvous for souls in search of ‘that peace which the world cannot give’”. Retreats for girls, mothers and nurses were frequently given, and in 1913, some 1,250 children were accommodated. Archbishop Whiteside wrote approvingly that “both children and parents are becoming keenly interested in retreats, and thus we have the satisfaction of knowing that a generation is being trained up to regard an annual retreat as an event in their lives that they will not willingly forego.”

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The Cenacle proved so popular that a new convent was built in 1914, carrying on the work of offering public and private retreats. As time went on it became a place where people of all faiths could go to deepen their spiritual lives by spending time in prayer or in following a retreat programme. As interfaith dialogue sought to overcome barriers, in 1980 a day school was held for Sixth Formers from Liverpool schools. It included talks by a Methodist, an Anglican, and a representative of the Society of Friends, and group discussions allowed the teenagers to exchange lively ideas about the voice of God reaching them. The organiser of the day school, Fr Peter Ryan, saw an ecumenical purpose to the event: “In a sense”, he said, “the important thing is not what they discuss, but the fact that they are meeting.”

 

The convent building became a well-known local landmark, but by the mid-1980s it was clear that the premises were unsuitable for the sisters, as well as being expensive to maintain. In 1991 the small community of nuns numbered around 20, and the Catholic Pic reported on the closure of the old convent: “More than three quarters of a century of work by the Cenacle nuns has taken place there, from retreats to conferences and catechetical classes. But the high-ceiling property is no longer suitable or adaptable to the changing needs of the Sisters and a purpose-built building comprising retreat house, exposition chapel, and infirmary, was the only answer.” A new convent was built in the grounds of the old one that offered better facilities for conference and spiritual purposes, and this was opened in July 1991, the old convent being demolished soon afterwards.

 

The pull of the religious life has continued to weaken, and a decline in the number of vocations led to the Sisters’ decision to close their institution in Wavertree. Archbishop Sherrington expressed gratitude for the community’s contribution to the archdiocese: “The ‘cenacle’ communicates warmth, friendship, the presence of Jesus, the sharing of food and wine, and support.” The Cenacle Sisters will celebrate their bicentenary in 2026, but sadly not in Liverpool.