After 60 years in service to God, Sr Mary Ann Bradshaw feels nothing but gratitude to Him and those who supported her over the decades.
Sr Ann, 81, celebrated her diamond jubilee of religious profession with a celebratory mass at the Rosary Monastery Chapel in St Ann’s on November 11, with joint homilies by Archbishop Jason Gordon and Bishop Clyde Harvey. They spoke of her maternal love, ongoing prayers, her devotion and the impact she made on many priests and seminarians of the archdiocese.
Sr Ann is a nun of the Dominican Order – the only nun at the Rosary Monastery and the only surviving RC nun in TT. The only other was Sr Mary Thomas who died in March. A nun is a religious woman who lives a contemplative life praying and working within in a convent or monastery, which is usually cloistered or semi-cloistered. Sisters, on the other hand, live "active" or "apostolic" lives, and are engaged in ministries out in the world, although they also engage in contemplation.
Sr Ann told WMN she never thought she was good enough to be a nun, but always felt God was her best friend.
[caption id="attachment_1046996" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Abbott John Perreia, Archbishop Jason Gordon and Bishop Clyde Harvey give a special blessing to Sr Ann at the end of the Jubilee Mass on November 11, 2023. -[/caption]
She said her mother, Carmelita Bradshaw, was very religious, but her father, Victor Bradshaw, was anti-Catholic. Every day Carmelita would pray and sing hymns with her 13 children at their home in Point Fortin and later in Diego Martin.
She said during Holy Week, Victor would keep a strict vigil to ensue no one went to church, but friends would pass and throw palms over the fence for Carmelita and her children.
She recalled when they lived by the sea in Point Fortin, the siblings would go to bathe at the beach on Good Friday and return to find their mother had prepared a “Good Friday spread.” She ensured there was red wine available to remind them Jesus spilt his blood for them.
Growing up with 12 siblings, Sr Ann said she would often be involved in fights and get into trouble at school. When she was ten, she played a prank on a beloved teacher and her mother promised she would “get licks” in front of the entire school population the next day.
“That night I didn’t sleep. I was not repentant, but I asked God, ‘Please don’t let Mom make me ashamed in front of everybody. I’ll do anything. I’ll be your best friend.’
“The next day, she forgot. And from that day, God has been my best, best friend. I gave plenty trouble and caused plenty ruction, but God has been my best friend.”
[caption id="attachment_1046997" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Sr Ann (centre) with her siblings (L-R) Greta Boyd, Jemma Modeste, Valentine Bradshaw (at back), Eleanor Ghany and Glenda Petrone. Photos courtesy the Dominican Laity of TT. -[/caption]
She recalled before she entered the monastery, her mother, showed her the graves of the nuns at Lapeyrouse Cemetery and told her that was where she would be buried, indicating t
