Hull: Sisters create haven of hospitality & peace in city centre

What is the role of a nun in today’s world? The Sisters of Mercy in Hull have found a very modern solution to the question of how to fulfil their vocation and meet the challenge of the 21st century.

In 1857 seven Sisters arrived in Hull. Their number grew and their beautiful home, Endsleigh House was once a convent with more than 70 nuns; a congregation that pioneered a great deal of social work and teaching in the city, particularly in its poorer areas and housing estates.

Now three sisters share the house and have adapted their vocation to new circumstances with imagination and innovation.

Sister Catherine Ryan explained: “The house was originally a convent with 70-80 sisters who went out to all the poor areas of the city and set up schools in all the housing estates. Our work ranged from running a soup kitchen to setting up a Teacher Training College.”

In the 1970s the number of sisters in the house fell as some moved out to work in other Branch houses in the Diocese of Middlesbrough and further afield. The house was offered on loan to the North Humberside Hospice Project and then in the 1990s became a temporary Administrative Centre to the University of Hull, and it was finally converted into 13 flats to be rented out to the public.

The Sisters returned in 1998 to a house in need of renovation and considerably in debt. They worked hard to restore the house and within four years had got out of the red. Now the house is a multi-functional centre which, as well as providing B&B services, is a perfect venue for conferences, retreats and prayer meetings, weddings and funerals. They have hosted interfaith initiatives with Methodists, Anglicans and Buddhists.

Sister Catherine has had to think like a business entrepreneur to keep the house alive. Yet, as she is keen to point out, this is really a new way of introducing people to God.

She said: “We have had to diversify. The purpose of our house is to evangelise, to spread the word of God through meeting people and greeting people. That is the biggest thing we do – greeting people.

“Our rooms, right down to the icons and pictures on the walls, give a presence of God. God lives here. It’s a house of prayer and hospitality where people are welcome.”

An added attraction is the beautiful grounds in which the house is situated. It has a Mercy Prayer Tree where visitors can tie a ribbon to a branch and pray for someone. There is the Labyrinth Peace walk and, at the Peace Cairn visitors can place a stone and pray for peace. The Pilgrims’ Way provides the opportunity for a reflective walk.

For more information about the Endsleigh Centre see: www.endsleighcentre.org.uk