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The Crimean Journals of the Sisters of Mercy, 1854-56 Edited by Maria Luddy (Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts Press, 2004) (260 pages; 55 euros/£50/$55 cloth)
Fifteen mostly Irish women religious journeyed to Crimea in 1854 under the leadership of Mother Superior M. Francis (Joanna) Bridgeman and at the request of the British government and episcopal authorities of the English and Irish Catholic Churches. Their motives were straightforward. The government wished to quell public outrage regarding the inadequate nursing care of their troops in Crimea, and the Catholic Church hoped this show of loyalty would improve the position of Catholics in Britain. Mother Bridgeman and her cohort saw their mission as a means to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers, but more importantly, to provide for their spiritual needs.
All fifteen sisters were encouraged to write accounts of their experiences, not as personal diaries, but as community documents; of these, three are extant. The journals of Sister M. Aloysius Doyle and Sister M. Joseph Croke were destined to become communal reading material in their convents, and excerpts were published in Catholic magazines or, in the case of Doyle, in book form. Mother M. Francis Bridgeman's detailed account was intended for congregation leaders and clerics; it was never published. These three journals, in their entirety, are at the core of this text.
Maria Luddy's introduction and skillful editing reflect her own copious research. She presents biographical sketches of the characters and sets the scene for their journey to Crimea. The theme that reverberates throughout, in the texts...