Grahamstown's assumption convent

Abstract

Grahamstown's Assumption Convent was the first such institution to be established in Southern Africa. It was opened in January 1850 when in response to a request from Bishop Aidan Devereux, of the Eastern Cape, Mother Marie Eugenie, the founder of the Assumption Order in Paris, sent out a party under Sister Gertrude. The beginnings were simple: a small thatched cottage accommodated the sisters while a free school, St Joseph's, was started in two convened stables. A fee-paying school, St Catherine's, was also established. Gradually the sisters involved themselves not only in education but also in all facets of communal work. Their contribution in many ways has been of inestimable value and although the Assumption Convent in Grahamstown closed down at the end of 1982 the Sisters continue to work in Grahamstown and in other centres among the young, the needy, the aged, and the infirm.