1. Teresa Kearney's name serves as the root of the word Kevina, which means "hospital" or "charity institute" in Uganda.
22 Facts About Teresa Kearney
1. 2.
Teresa Kearney was born in Knockenrahan, Arklow, County Wicklow, on April 28,1875 as the third daughter of farmer Michael Kearney and Teresa Kearney.
3.
Teresa Kearney attended local convent school in Arklow following her mother's death.
4.
In 1889, following her grandmother's death, Teresa Kearney went to convent of Mercy at Rathdrum, to train as an assistant teacher.
5.
Teresa Kearney did not have the finances to pay for training, and became a Junior Assistant Mistress.
6.
Teresa Kearney became a Junior Assistant Mistress at 17 and taught in Essex, England.
7.
Teresa Kearney believed that God was calling her to be a sister, and she applied for admission to the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Five Wounds at Mill Hill, London.
8.
In 1895, Teresa Kearney entered St Mary's Abbey, Mill Hill, London.
9.
Teresa Kearney waited three years for a posting to the American mission, but when the call from a foreign mission came, it came from Africa.
10.
Teresa Kearney started her first clinic under a mango tree near the convent.
11.
In 1906, Teresa Kearney expanded the missionary and set up a hospital in Nagalama, twenty-three miles away.
12.
In 1913, three more sisters arrived, which allowed Teresa Kearney to establish a third mission station in Kamuli, Busoga.
13.
At times, Teresa Kearney was outraged by the treatment Europeans gave to the African porters.
14.
Teresa Kearney worked to uphold the rights of African people caught up in the European war.
15.
On December 25,1918 Teresa Kearney was awarded the MBE, Member of Order of British Empire, for her services to the wounded during the war years.
16.
Teresa Kearney is credited for promoting higher education in Catholic African women in her mission.
17.
In September 1928, Teresa Kearney returned to England to establish a novitiate exclusively for training sisters for African missions.
18.
Teresa Kearney travelled and talked to donors to garner support for projects in Africa.
19.
On October 17,1957, Teresa Kearney died at the age of 82 in Brighton, Massachusetts.
20.
Teresa Kearney's remains were flown to Ireland and buried at Mount Oliver.
21.
On December 3,1957, Teresa Kearney's body was buried in the cemetery at Nkokonjeru, the motherhouse of the Little Sisters of St Francis.
22.
In 1918, Teresa Kearney was made Member of the Order of the British Empire for her work during the war.