Hospital student Santha creates Church history
November 1975
A NEW chapter in the annals of Irish ecclesiastical history was written in Drogheda last Sunday evening when a young woman was received into the Catholic Church. Raven-haired Santha was born a Hindu in the Penang region of Malaysia 22 years ago and came to Drogheda last May to take a course in midwifery at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.
On Sunday, All Souls Day, Santha took part in a ceremony — performed for the first time in Ireland — non- Christian adults being admitted to the Church.
She was educated in a convent school in Malaysia and it was there she made her first real contact with Catholicism before leaving for England to do her general training in nursing.
While in England she met her fiance, Belfast-born, Seamus McGrath—they plan to marry next July — and several student nurses from Ireland . She started attending Mass regularly.
In Drogheda, Santha maintained her growing interest in Catholicism and began receiving instruction in the religion. Supervising her instruction was Fr. Edward Lennon OFM of the local Franciscan Friary.
And it was in the Order’s Church in Laurence Street that Sunday’s ceremony took place during concelebrated Mass.
“It was a day of great joy for Santha and her friends and all who took part in the ceremony on Sunday,” said Fr. Lennon.
The ceremony, according to Fr. Lennon, was historic for two reasons. It has never been performed before in this country and the special text required was used for the first time.
The English version, translated from the Latin, was specially approved for Sunday’s ceremony by Mgr. Henry Laverty, P.P., St. Peter’s who was present.
The Mass was also concelebrated by Fr. Flavian Kemple OFM, Fr. Paul Plummer OFM, Fr. Florian Farrelly and Mr. Martin Farrelly and Fr. Martin McArdle, Chaplain to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital as well as Fr. Lennon.
The choir was under the direction of Mrs. Ann McArdle, Drogheda, while two of Our Laay of Apostles nurses at the hospital, sisters Ellen Martin and Ann Barry, sang and played the guitar at special moments during the ceremony Also taking part in the ceremony were the McGrath. family from Belfast, and the Woods family from Dundalk. Acting as Godparents were John McGrath. a brother of Seamus and Mrs. Martha Hynes, Dundalk, a daughter of Mrs. Woods.
The lessons were read by Seamus McGrath and nurse Anne .Kelly while the prayers were recited by Sisters Anna Corcoran and Rene Duignan and Marina Burd, Anne Gallagher and Rosemary Finlay.
Members of the Franciscan Youth Club also took part in the ceremony as well as members of the Franciscan Third Order, while the programme was prepared by the teachers and pupils of the’ local vocational school.
One of the more moving moments during the ceremony was when the newly-Baptised Santha left the church only to re-enter a short time later clothed in a white garment a.s a symbol of her new creation. She has taken the Christian name of Olivia because of Drogheda’s link with St. Oliver Plunkett.