St. Lazerian's Church
(above) was built c1770
in the style of Cruciform. It is constructed of rubble stone with granite
door, window jambs and mullions. The bell tower, which differs in
architectural style from the church, is thought to be much older than St.
Lazerian's, but information on the structure is difficult to come by.
Leighlinbridge is about 4 Km from Old Leighlin
and is situated on the River Barrow. It was originally called New
Leighlin prior to the building of the first stone bridge over the river by
Maurice Jakis, a Cannon of the Cathedral of Kildare, in 1320.
Leighlinbridge has been regarded as one of the most important river
crossings in Ireland for more than a thousand years. For a long
period of time the River Barrow was the limit of the Pale. The crossing
was controlled by the McMurrough Kavanaghs who extracted payment from the
Crown for safe passage.
The Carmelites had a monastery near the Black
Castle, on the east bank of the River Barrow, founded by one of the Carews.
This lasted until c.1828.
Before the construction of the present church
of St. Lazerian, a penal-day chapel existed in Conicare which was probably
had a thatched roof with mud walls. The spot is known as "the church
field".
Fr, Patrick Kehoe P.P. (1827-1858) had the
church raised and re-roofed. Fr. James Connolly P.P. (1890-1897)
added the alter area, sacristy and the granite decorations. Generous
donations were made by two illustrious native sons: Cardinal Moran,
Archbishop of Sydney, presented a marble alter, while Bishop Patrick
Foley, Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (1896-1926) sponsored the
communication rails. Australia's first Cardinal, Patrick Moran
(1830-1911), was born at Bridge Street, Leighlinbridge, Carlow., and was
appointed Bishop of Ossery in 1872, and Archbishop of Sydney in 1884.
NOTE:
Carmelites (kär'məlīts)
, Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars. Originally a group of hermits,
apparently European, living on Mt. Carmel in Palestine, their supervision
was undertaken (c.1150) by St. Berthold. In 1238 they moved to Cyprus, and
thence to Western Europe. St. Simon Stock (d. 1265), an Englishman, was
their second founder.
He transformed them into an order of friars
resembling Dominicans and Franciscans and founded monasteries at Oxford,
Cambridge, Paris, and Bologna. They rapidly became prominent in university
life. An enclosed order of Carmelite nuns was established. The Carmelites,
like other orders, declined in the 15th cent. They were revived by St.
Theresa (of Ávila) and St. John of the Cross in 16th-century Spain. These
great contemplatives gave the order a special orientation toward
mysticism.
Their reformed branch is the Discalced (or Barefoot)
Carmelites; it is now more numerous than the Carmelites of the Old
Observance. The Discalced Carmelites cultivate the contemplative life in
all aspects, and they have produced many works on mystical theology. St.
Theresa (of Lisieux) is a well-known Discalced Carmelite of the 19th cent.
In 1790 the first community came to the United States and settled near
Port Tobacco, Md. There are presently about 6,900 priests and brothers
living in Carmelite communities, with 500 living in the United States.
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