Mother Genevieve Beale was the leader of the first Sisters of St Louis foundation in Ireland, in 1859. She was born in London on June 20, 1822, into a well-to-do Protestant family. When family fortunes failed, she moved to County Cork, Ireland, and became a governess to a Catholic family. She was deeply influenced by the faith of this family and decided to convert to Catholicism. She became an aspirant for the French novitiate of the Sisters of St Louis in 1845. In 1858, she returned to Ireland on mission to the poorest of the poor in Monaghan in the diocese of Clogher.
You can read more about how Genevieve Beale became the Irish Foundress in the two-part series that was published in the Sisters of St Louis’ monthly newsletter Musings. You can read both parts here by clicking on both links below: