15 May 2017
In 2017, two of Ireland’s largest religious membership organisations, the Irish Missionary Union (IMU) and the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI), joined forces to create a new group, the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious of Ireland (AMRI).
The IMU was originally established in 1970 for the purpose of creating a global network of missionary organisations. Currently, there are 1,500 Irish missionaries ministering in 84 developing countries around the world, with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart working as an active part of this group.
CORI was launched in 1960, with the original title of the Conference of Major Religious Superiors of Ireland (CMRS). It currently has a combined membership of approximately 9,000 religious from 138 congregations.
This amalgamation takes place “in response to a desire to energise and support the life and ministry of the Church, both in Ireland and overseas”. In their official statement, the President of the IMU, Sr Kathleen McGarvey OLA, and the President of CORI, Fr Gregory Carroll OP, said, “We believe that a new national identity will facilitate renewal and a more effective mission outreach”.
AMRI is based in Templeogue, Dublin, at the Provincialate of the Missionaries of Africa. Fr Marc Whelan CSSp has been elected as President, with Vice-President Sr Phyllis Behan RSC. A team of members of the Executive have also been elected or co-opted, and the group are meeting regularly as the association continues its development process.
According to the official AMRI website:
“The purpose of AMRI will be to represent and promote active collaboration between
Religious Institutes, Societies of Apostolic Life and Missionary Organisations,
so as to respond to existing and emerging realities both in Ireland and overseas
by supporting and energising the life and ministries of their members
and of the wider Church with a renewed sense of hope and relevance.
Among other objectives, it will seek to develop and promote religious, apostolic and missionary life
as a vibrant, prophetic, organic and integral feature of the life of the church.”
We wish all at AMRI every blessing as they undertake this new venture, moving towards an exciting future for missionary outreach at home and abroad.