Who we are

We are a global association

The International Presentation Association (IPA) is an association of religious sisters and Presentation People.

It was founded in 1988 as a global advocacy association to continue the work of our founder, Venerable Nano Nagle, into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Our Executive Director is Ann Marie Quinn PBVM and the secretariat of the IPA is based in Ireland.
With permission of the artist, Mary Sutherland
Venerable Nano Nagle

Inspired by Venerable Nano Nagle

Honoria ‘Nano’ Nagle (1718-1786) was a compassionate and forward-thinking woman who worked among the poor and marginalised in Ireland, providing education, food and medical support. On Christmas Eve, 1775, she founded a religious order of sisters, who later became known as the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM).

 

Nano Nagle performed a lot of her work at night, travelling from hovel to hovel along the dark lanes of Cork city, carrying a lantern to light her way. This is how she came to be known as ‘The Lady with the Lantern’. 

 

The lantern remains a symbol of how the Presentation Sisters follow her light today through our work in education and global advocacy.

 

“We are Presentation People who share the charism of Nano Nagle. We reach out in faith, in a spirit of hospitality, compassion and simplicity to all of creation. The cry of Earth and people made poor calls us to continue the mission of Jesus to bring forth a sustainable society founded on respect for Earth, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace.”

2017 IPA Assembly

We are located in 20 countries

We are comprised of the Presentation Sisters Union, the Conference of Presentation Sisters of North America and the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea, and together we have a presence in twenty countries, shown in this map.

Our History and our Future

These featured resources go into detail about the history of the International Presentation, and the plans for the future which arose from the IPA Assembly in 2017. Click on the cover image to download your chosen document in pdf format.

Kathleen Tynan - A Reflection On the IPA Story
Our plans for 2017-2020