Latin order marks 180 years of service with documentary
To mark 180 years of service to the people of Larnaca, the Order of St Joseph of the Apparition is presenting a documentary highlighting its contribution to education in multilingualism and multiculturalism on Friday.
“The documentary highlights the order’s contribution to education, to public health and its charity work,” representative of the Latin community in the House, Antonella Mantovani, told the Cyprus Mail.
“Whole generations of women received European-style education at its school and thousands were treated by its infirmary. It is impossible to chart the history of Larnaca’s evolution and Larnaca society during the same period, without making reference to the Monastery of St Joseph,” she added.
In December 1844, four sisters of the recently-formed French Catholic Order of Saint Joseph of the Apparition arrived in Larnaca at the invitation of the Catholic Abbot Paolo Brunoni, who was a missionary on the island, to start a school for European-style education for girls and a medical centre.
Brunoni temporarily housed the Order, whose nuns started elementary lessons from those temporary premises in January 1845 for 91 pupils, along with helping the ill.
Funding was secured from the French Catholic organisation Propagation de la Foi, as well as from the French government, to start building the monastery which still houses the Order in Larnaca.
Construction works on the monastery began in 1846 and were completed in 1848. It housed the convent, a chapel, the school, an infirmary-pharmacy and boarding facilities for pupils.
The pupils were from all faiths and nationalities. Lessons were in French, English and Greek.
The operation of the school was disrupted by the 1974 Turkish invasion and the school was eventually forced to close in 1990 because of the small number of pupils.
In 2010, the nuns established St Joseph’s Association, Protector of the Needy. To raise funds, the sisters with the help of volunteers opened a charity shop on the convent’s premises. The association also holds regular fund-raising events such as the annual Christmas bazaar, a tradition dating back to 1858.
The association has raised money on numerous occasions to buy specific equipment for Larnaca general hospital, it has donated to support the child cancer unit in Nicosia and the Elpida foundation, as well as the mental health day care centre in Larnaca.
The screening will be held at 7pm at the multipurpose creativity and cultural space (ex-Larnaca Club) in Larnaca.