4 days ago
Life in the missions: ‘We didn't have time to think about fear or trauma; we were too busy trying to save lives'
As a 26-year-old nurse, Gráinne Fitzpatrick loved dancing. She then became a nun in war-torn Biafra. Her story is among those told in a new RTÉ series about a way of life in decline
In the 1960s, there were as many Irish men and women working overseas on the missions as there were members of the gardaí and the Irish Defence Forces.
But according to the Association of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI), in 2022 there were just 626 Irish Catholic missionaries active outside Ireland. Within the next 10 years that number is expected to drop to about 200.
