Dame Felicitas Corrigan
OSB (6 March 1908 – 7 October 2003, Kathleen Corrigan) was an English
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
, author and humanitarian.
''Independent'' obituary
/ref>
Biography
Corrigan was born in Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in 1908 to a large family. She learned to play the organ at an early age and by age 15 was working as an organist at a local church. She then won an organ scholarship from the Archdiocese of Liverpool
The Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool ( la, Archidioecesis Liverpolitana) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese ...
. While studying Gregorian Chant at Stanbrook Abbey
Stanbrook Abbey is a Catholic contemplative Benedictine women's monastery with the status of an abbey, located at Wass, North Yorkshire, England.
The community was founded in 1625 at Cambrai in Flanders (then part of the Spanish Netherlands ...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, she met Dame Laurentia McLachan, who would later inspire Corrigan to become a nun. Corrigan read English at the University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
, delivering a dissertation on the poet Coventry Patmore
Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and literary critic. He is best known for his book of poetry ''The Angel in the House'', a narrative poem about the Victorian ideal of a happy marriage.
As ...
.
In 1934, the 25 year-old Corrigan entered Stanbrook Abbey as a novice. She became a nun and eventually the Abbey choir director. One of her projects was to develop an English version of the office of Compline
Compline ( ), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer service (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The English ...
for the abbey.
Corrigan wrote the book ''The Nun, the Infidel, and the Superman'' (1985). It was about the friendships between McLachlan and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
and the scholar Sir Sydney Cockerell. The book was adapted into ''The Best of Friends'', a play by Hugh Whitemore that was staged in the West End of London. It also became a film for television starring Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...
. In the course of her career, Felicitas corresponded with poet Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
, actor Alec Guinness
Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1 ...
; and novelist Rumer Godden
Margaret Rumer Godden (10 December 1907 – 8 November 1998) was an English author of more than 60 fiction and non-fiction books. Nine of her works have been made into films, most notably ''Black Narcissus'' in 1947 and '' The River'' in ...
.
Corrigan's biography
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
of Helen Waddell was awarded the 1986 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...
. Corrigan also wrote about Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
and edited publications for the Stanbrook Abbey Press. Her other works include:
*''In a Great Tradition: Tribute to Dame Laurentia McLachlan, Abbess of Stanbrook'' (1956)
*''George Thomas of Soho'' (1970)
*''Siegfried Sassoon: Poet's Pilgrimage'' (1973)
*''Benedictine Tapestry'' (1991)
Corrigan was Stanbrook Abbey's organist from 1933 until 1990.
She died at Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
on 7 October 2003.
References
External links
''Guardian'' obituary by Peter Stanford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corrigan, Felicitas
1908 births
2003 deaths
20th-century English Roman Catholic nuns
English people of Irish descent
Benedictine nuns
English biographers
Writers from Liverpool
Musicians from Liverpool
James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients
20th-century biographers
Private press movement people