Mother Mary Loyola Explained

Religion:Roman Catholic
Mary Loyola
Honorific Prefix:Mother
Post-Nominals:IBVM
Birth Date:30 June 1845
Birth Place:Islington, Middlesex, England
Death Place:Micklegate Bar, York, England

Mother Mary Loyola (1845–1930) was an English Roman Catholic nun and an author of bestselling Catholic books. James Fallon SJ, writing for America, called her one of the "most prolific and popular" writers in the Catholic literary world.[1] She published her first book in 1896 at age 51, and produced at least 27 more in the ensuing 30 years. Her works sold globally and were translated into many languages.

Youth and entry into religious life

She was born Elizabeth Giles to Protestant parents, Jane Gray (1817–1855) and Albert Giles (1818–1855).[2] Her parents were part of the Scots Christian sect of Sandemanianism, known as "Glasites." Her father was a grain dealer for the London stock exchange, and the family was affluent.[3] She had five siblings, one older sister, Ellen (1843–1855), and four younger ones, Albert (1846–1931), Jane (1849–1898), Frances (Fanny) (1852–1916), and David (1853–1855). In 1855, when she was nine years old, two of her siblings and both of her parents died of scarlet fever. She and her remaining two siblings became the wards of their uncle Samuel Giles, a Catholic convert via the Oxford movement. The children attended mass with him and heard the sermons of Cardinal Manning and Father Faber. After entering the Catholic church, she was enrolled at the Bar Convent School in York, then considered to be one of the best schools in the nation and indeed the oldest in England. After three years in secular life, she entered the Bar Convent in 1866 at age 21 and became a religious sister of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, today known as the Sisters of Loreto.

Becoming an author, work with boys

She taught English for 30 years in the convent school, and served as headmistress and Mother Superior (1888–1891), and then mistress of novices (1891–1923), celebrating her golden jubilee in 1919.[4] The English Jesuit and historian, John Morris, encouraged her to write a book for children preparing for first communion. English Jesuits published My First Communion by "A Religious of St. Mary's Convent, York" in 1896 as part of a popular "Quarterly Series." The editor was Herbert Thurston, a Jesuit who went on to edit many of her books and write introductions for them.[5] My First Communion became popular enough that she was encouraged to publish it as a title under her name. She launched and ran a branch of the Catholic Boys Brigade in York for ten years, watching many of the boys go off to fight in World War I, with some not returning. She presented a paper, "First Communion," at the Eucharistic Congress which took place in Montreal, September 6–11, 1910.[6] She also wrote the life of her congregation's founder, Mary Ward, for The Catholic Encyclopedia, of which Thurston was a noted editor and contributor.[7] The English Catholic publisher Maisie Ward remembered being prepared for her confirmation at age 16 in 1905 with The Soldier of Christ, or, Talks Before Confirmation (1900), and she then spent time at the Bar Convent to study with Mother Loyola personally.[8]

She slipped on a stairway in 1923; the accident ended her work as novice mistress and confined her to a wheelchair permanently. She was 78 years old and in considerable pain, yet she continued to write and publish. After her death in 1930, Joseph Cowgill, Bishop of Leeds, celebrated the requiem mass, and the Right Reverend Thomas Shine, Bishop of Middlesbrough, preached the homily.[9] The choir of Ampleforth Abbey sang.

Partial listing of books

  1. My First Communion. (London: Burns and Oates, 1896). From The Irish Monthly, "Few Catholic books have been so successful as 'First Communion.'"[10] Also Question on First Communion and Mass for First Communion (all 1896).
  2. Confession and Communion (1898).
  3. The Child of God, or What Comes of Our Baptism (London: Burns and Oates, 1899).
  4. The Soldier of Christ, or, Talks Before Confirmation (London: Burns and Oates, 1900).[11]
  5. Coram Sanctissimo (London: Sands & Co., 1901).[12]
  6. Forgive Us Our Trespasses, or, Talks Before Confession (1901).[13] [14]
  7. First Confession (1901), version for grownups.
  8. First Confession: Book for Little Ones (1901).
  9. A Simple Confession Book (1901).
  10. A Simple Confirmation Book (1901).
  11. A Simple Communion Book (1903).
  12. Welcome! Holy Communion Before and After (London: Burns and Oates, 1904).[15]
  13. Credo: A Simple Explanation of Catholic Doctrine (1905).
  14. Jesus of Nazareth: The Story of His Life Told to Children (London: Burnes & Oates, 1907).[16] [17]
  15. Home for Good (London: Burns and Oates 1907), a book for girls returning home permanently after life away at boarding school.[18] [19]
  16. Holy Mass (1907).
  17. Confession and Communion for Religious and for Those Who Communicate Frequently (London: Burns and Oates, 1908).[20]
  18. Holy Mass (1908).
  19. Heavenwards (London: Burns and Oates, 1910).[21]
  20. The Children's Charter (London: Burns and Oates, 1911).[22] [23]
  21. Why Must I Suffer? A Talk With the Toilers (Catholic Truth Society, 1911).[24]
  22. The Prayer Book for Children (1911, republished 2012 as The Little Children's Prayer Book).
  23. Blessed are They That Mourn (London: Burns and Oates, 1917). "A book for those bereaved by the war. The consoling thoughts are drawn from the scriptures and from the Church's doctrine, and are developed with much convincingness and solidity," The Irish Monthly, June, 1917.[25] "Exquisitely beautiful and soothing," The Catholic Standard and Times (Philadelphia), May 25, 1917.[26]
  24. Hail! Full of Grace: Simple Thoughts on the Rosary (London: Burns and Oates, 1917).
  25. The King of the Golden City: An Allegory for Children (London: Burns and Oates, 1921).[27] "A charming allegory," The Catholic Historical Review, January 1923.[28]
  26. With the Church: Thoughts on Her Seasons and Chief Feasts (London: Burns and Oates, 1924). "A series of meditations written in simple yet vivid words, provocative of personal thought and aiming at practical rather than exalted spirituality, though it succeeds eminently in attaining both," Blackfriars, November 1924.[29]
  27. Credo (pamphlet), 1926.[30]
  28. With the Church (Burns, Oates, and Washbourne, 1928).[31]
  29. Trust (her last book, 1930).

NB: Many of her books were edited, and often introduced, by Jesuit father Herbert Thurston SJ.

Notes and References

  1. Fallon . James F. . Mother Mary Loyola . America: A Catholic Review of the Week . January 24, 1931 . 44 . 16 . 389 . Internet Archive (archive.org).
  2. Web site: Elizabeth "Mother Mary Loyola" Giles . Ancestry.com.
  3. Web site: Mary Loyola . 2024-03-10 . www.goodreads.com.
  4. News: February 28, 1924 . Mother Mary Loyola: A Noted Author . The Catholic Press (Australia) . 8.
  5. Web site: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Henry James Coleridge . 2024-03-10 . www.newadvent.org.
  6. August 26, 1910 . Papers to be Read at Eucharistic Congress . The Catholic Columbian . 35 . 35 . 1 . JSTOR.
  7. January 12, 1931 . J. C. Ward, Descendent of Mother Mary Ward, Famed Religious, Dead . Catholic News Service . 4 . JSTOR.
  8. Book: Maisie Ward . Unfinished Business . 1 September 1965 . Sheed & Ward Ltd. . 978-0-7220-0231-5 . London . 31–32.
  9. December 29, 1930 . Mother Mary Loyola, Distinguished Authoress, is Dead at Her Convent . Catholic News Service . 4 . JSTOR.
  10. 1899 . Notes on New Books, 'The Child of God, or What Comes of Our Baptism' . The Irish Monthly . 27 . 311 . 276 . 20499441 . JSTOR.
  11. 1900 . Notes on New Books: 'Soldier of Christ, or Talks Before Confirmation' . The Irish Monthly . 28 . 324 . 394 . 20499610 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  12. 1901 . Notes on New Books: 'Coram Sanctissimo' . The Irish Monthly . 29 . 334 . 219–223 . 20499740 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  13. November 18, 1905 . New Books: 'Forgive Us Our Trespasses, or, Talks Before Confession' . The Catholic Columbian . 30 . 46 . 2 . JSTOR.
  14. October 26, 1901 . New Books: 'Forgive Us Our Trespasses' . The Catholic Columbian . 26 . 42 . 2 . JSTOR.
  15. Web site: September 1904 . Review of 'Welcome! Holy Communion Before and After' . 2024-03-11 . The Month (published on Barnes & Noble's website).
  16. 1907 . Notes on New Books: 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Story of His Life Told to Children' . The Irish Monthly . 35 . 411 . 113 . 20501223 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  17. November 3, 1906 . A New Life of Christ . The Catholic Columbian . 31 . 44 . 6.
  18. 1907 . Notes on New Books: 'Home for Good' . The Irish Monthly . 35 . 411 . 531–532 . 20501223 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  19. October 12, 1907 . Catholic Books: 'Home for Good' . The Monitor . 43 . 24 . JSTOR.
  20. Brown . Gavin . June 2010 . The Two Bodies of Christ: Communion Frequency and Ecclesiastical Discourse in Pre–Vatican II Australian Catholicism . Church History . 79 . 2 . 359–409 . 10.1017/S0009640710000077 . 0009-6407 . JSTOR.
  21. 1910 . Some New Books: 'Heavenwards' . The Irish Monthly . 38 . 446 . 471–472 . 20502871 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  22. 1911 . Some New Books: 'The Children's Charter' . The Irish Monthly . 39 . 454 . 235 . 20502993 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  23. November 17, 1917 . The Children's Charter . The Catholic Standard and Times . 23 . 1 . 7 . JSTOR.
  24. 1911 . Some New Books: 'Why Must I Suffer? A Talk With the Toilers' . The Irish Monthly . 39 . 461 . 656 . 20503107 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  25. June 1917 . Some New Books: 'Blessed Are They That Mourn' . The Irish Monthly . 45 . 528 . 407 . 20504838 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.
  26. May 25, 1918 . The Reader: 'Blessed Are They Who Mourn' . The Catholic Standard and Times . 23 . 28 . 2 . JSTOR.
  27. November 19, 1921 . A Beautiful Christmas Book for Children . The Monitor . 63 . 28 . 4 . JSTOR.
  28. January 1923 . Minor Notices: 'The King of the Golden City' . The Catholic Historical Review . 8 . 4 . 562 . 25011922 . 0008-8080 . JSTOR.
  29. C. . H. . November 1924 . Book Reviews: 'With the Church' . Blackfriars . 5 . 56 . 502 . 44244014 . 1754-2014 . JSTOR.
  30. March 11, 1926 . Book reviews, pamphlets . The Catholic Transcript . XVIII . 40 . 5 . JSTOR.
  31. 1928 . Review: 'With the Church. Part II' . The Irish Monthly . 56 . 661 . 392 . 20518369 . 2009-2113 . JSTOR.

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