Sr. Katie Day

When Chapin was a young boy, his parents hired a student, Katie, from Aquinas Institute of Theology to be their nanny. Katie was friends with mutual friends, Orin and Erin, and was the sweetest human in the world and all got to know her and adored her.

When she graduated, she moved on and joined the order of the Sisters of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She has moved around and worn many different hats within her order and is now doing missionary work in Waterford, Ireland.

When we asked my sister, Elise, if we could take Chapin along with us as his graduation gift, she said “Yes. . .but you MUST look up Katie!” So we did. And she was THRILLED that we were coming and wanted to visit.

Waterford is about an hour south of our Airbnb, and Sr. Katie suggested that we stop at the Dunbrody Famine Ship on the way down to get a bit of

history.

The Dunbrody is a replica of an actual famine ship that took families from New Ross to Savannah, Georgia during the famine in the middle of the 19th century. The ship had a great reputation for getting passengers to America alive as it had a very caring captain, John Williams.

We very much enjoyed the tour guide and learned so much. The strength of the people who made that journey is a bit beyond comprehension. The desperation they must have felt to bring themselves to leave this beautiful place and go in search of a new life is heartbreaking.

We heard stories from actors about what life on the boat was like and how cramped and uncomfortable it must have been with just a small bunk for the entire family and their belongings. . .and the sea sickness. . .and the bleakness of only getting a half hour above the deck each day. On the particular voyage we were pretending to be on, we *only* lost 6 passengers. . .three infants who were born on the ship, and three people who were “old enough to be near death back in Ireland.” In contrast, most of the famine ships from the West had a mortality rate of about a quarter of the passengers.

We messaged Sr. Katie after our time at the Dunbrody and met up for lunch. We love the “food courts” here in Ireland. The allergy labeling is so straightforward! It's so much easier for Jay to determine what he can eat that is gluten free than at most places in the States. What a relief!

We sat outside and I was enchanted with the area and the bird artwork that was hanging over the medieval street. It started to sprinkle and nothing changed in the behavior of the people milling about.

When we finished lunch, Sr. Katie became our tour guide and took us all around the Viking city. Waterford is the Oldest city in Ireland! Sr. Katie knew and shared the

history of the city from when Ragnell (Reginald) founded the city to when Strongbow and Aoife were married to when the Protestants took over Catholic churches and how it is reflected in the architecture. Waterford crystal chandeliers hang in the Cathedrals and we learned that really the only reason Waterford crystal is so esteemed in the states. . .is because of marketing. Their crystal is of course beautiful and flawless but there are other makers who are just as good. . .Waterford just marketed the heck out of theirs and it became known as the best.

Jay and Chapin are both Taller Than A Viking according to a chart on a wall, and Jay felt very connected to the

city as his Ancestory DNA tells him that he is 20% Scots Viking. So fun!

We got to go in the Franciscan church ruins and the Tower as both were open and free on the day we went. Sr. Katie had never been up in the Tower before, so it was fun that she had a “first” on our visit too!

We also stopped in at the Waterford Crystal Factory and went into the showroom just for fun. Good news. . .we didn’t break anything!

Sr. Katie then gave us the choice of a sandy beach or a cliff walk and even though both girls wanted the sandy beach, the adults overruled them with Cliff Walk.

As soon as we got to the cliffs, the girls realized this was something they’d never seen before and understood our decision. Sr. Katie explained that the Waterford cliffs were no where near as high as the Cliffs of Moher where we’ll go later this week but that the Waterford cliffs are a bit

more rustic and less crowded. It was simply beautiful. And watching Chapin step close to the edge to get the photo angle he wanted I decided that these cliffs were plenty high.

We walked along the cliffs and talked with Sr. Katie about all things Irish. The kids asked great questions and learned so much. It was really fun to have an American who is living in Ireland give us her perspective. It was very fun to learn how the Irish cars get their license plate numbers (by the year they were made!) and what the “L” and “N” in the car windows mean (“Learner” and “New Driver.)

Sr. Katie also shared with us that the Catholic population has been way down and that’s one of the main reasons she’s here. She goes out to schools and is a presence in the community, with an openness and willingness to engage in conversation about the Catholic faith. We all noticed that she was treated very respectfully by everyone we encountered. We sort of felt like we were walking around with a rock star lol.

When it was time to head back, none of us were ready to leave the sweet, funny, kind presence of Sr. Katie. She is such a bright, shining light of goodness and grace. The Lord sent her to Ireland to be a beacon of joy and love and He certainly chose well. We were so honored to spend the day with her. My girls don’t have the presence of religious

sisters in their lives like I did growing up, and it was so fun for them to get to spend the day with a sister so fun and “normal.”

We had to stop for gas on the way home and of course the girls wanted to try Slushies In Ireland flavors they've never had before. We again got back “home” later than we intended and we scavenged for whatever food was in the house. Jay, Chapin, and I ate quickly and jumped back in the car to try to catch the last sunset at the pass before leaving this beautiful spot. We saw the last little bit of sunset and shivered while we watched the clouds cover the mountains.