St Non's Retreat
St Non's Retreat was established at St David's, Pembrokeshire, in 1939. It stands near the ancient pilgrimage sites associated with St Non — the mother of St David — including the ruined chapel and the holy well that bear her name. The retreat is situated by the sea, and photographs of the house show the Passionist sign against the coastal landscape.
A printed promotional leaflet held in the archive describes St Non's as a retreat and community centre, under the title St Non's Retreat, St David's, Pembrokeshire, South Wales. A separate leaflet, Introducing St Non's: The Story of St Non's, gives an account of the place.
A pamphlet of six pages, dated November 1977, sets out the history of the site and the establishment of the Passionist retreat there, together with an account of the work undertaken by the Passionists at St Non's.
"History of place and of C.P. Retreat there. Work by C.P.'s outlined."
Sources: Minsteracres,_St_Non's catalogue (Provincial Archive); Irish Passionists Archives Catalogue, serial 3900 (Passionist Archives, Mount Argus, Dublin).
The Chapel, the Holy Well, and the Welsh Language
The archive at Mount Argus holds a document combining pen-and-ink sketches of the two most distinctive features of St Non's with a Welsh-language version of the Lord's Prayer. The entry records it as follows:
"3p.c. pen-and-ink sketches of St Non's — 1) The Chapel 2) The Holy Well"
The combination of the sketches with a Welsh-language text reflects the bilingual and Celtic character of the Passionist mission at St David's — a dimension also captured in the Cross Bulletin's earlier description of the Carmarthen retreat and its outlying stations as a mission where "the language, traditions and racial peculiarities of the old Cymric Celts hold their ground stubbornly against Anglicising influences."
Source: Irish Passionists Archives Catalogue, serial 5039 (Passionist Archives, Mount Argus, Dublin).
Before the Foundation: the 1930s
Several items in the archive predate the formal establishment of St Non's Retreat in 1939 and suggest an earlier Catholic interest in the site. C.H. Morgan-Griffiths produced a work on St Non's Well (Llanelly, 1930) and wrote on the Chapel of Our Lady and St Non (post-1934). Mrs B. Morgan-Griffiths contributed an article, 'The Lost Chapels of Pembrokeshire', to Catholic Fireside on 10 February 1933, and wrote Catholic St David's (Mumbles, undated). These items are held with the St Non's papers in the Provincial Archive.
In the summer of 1937, Passionist students visited St David's, and a record of their holiday survives: a manuscript, typed and illustrated with drawings and photographs, entitled The Welsh Rarebit, St David's, Summer 1937. Two copies are preserved in the archive.
Sources: Minsteracres,_St_Non's catalogue (Provincial Archive).
Fr Gerald Bently CP and the Tenby Connection
Fr Gerald Bently CP served as Superior of St Non's Retreat in the 1970s. In July 1975 he wrote to Fr Declan O'Sullivan CP, the archivist, giving details of the earlier Passionist house at Tenby — the foundation from which the Carmarthen mission had grown.
"letter from F. Gerald, Superior St Non's Retreat, St David's, Dyfed, to Declan O'Sullivan. Gives some details of the house we had in Tenby."
Fr Declan's own notes record a visit he made to Tenby in August 1975, during which he photographed the hotel at the back of which was the room that had served as a church, and "Sparta House (now flats) which was our residence." A map of Tenby is also held in the archive.
Sources: Irish Passionists Archives Catalogue, serials 2700, 2701, 2703 (Passionist Archives, Mount Argus, Dublin).
The Carmarthen History Commission
While at St Non's, Fr Gerald Bently was commissioned by his Provincial to write a history of the Carmarthen Retreat. In February 1975 he wrote to Fr Edmund Burke CP at Mount Argus, Dublin, asking whether the Irish archives held any relevant material:
"Carmarthen: Request from Fr. Gerald Bently C.P., St Non's, St David's, Dyfed, to Fr. Edmund Burke C.P., Mt. Argus, Dublin. Asks if he has any information about the Carmarthen Retreat, as his Prov. has asked him to write a history of the place."
The letter was passed to Fr Declan O'Sullivan, who replied listing the holdings relevant to Carmarthen: seven articles from Vol. II of The Cross, two brochures, and eleven press cuttings from 1889 to 1894.
Sources: Irish Passionists Archives Catalogue, serials 2487, 2488 (Passionist Archives, Mount Argus, Dublin).
The Aston Hall Manuscript
Fr Declan O'Sullivan wrote to Fr Gerald at St Non's in November 1974 to return a manuscript volume that had been on loan to the Dublin archives. The volume described the retreats given by the Passionists at Aston Hall between 1842 and 1852 — among the earliest records of the Passionist mission in England. In his letter Fr Declan also mentioned that the Sisters of the Cross and Passion believed their foundress had been received into the Church by Blessed Dominic Barberi.
Source: Irish Passionists Archives Catalogue, serial 2239 (Passionist Archives, Mount Argus, Dublin).
Archive Holdings
The Provincial Archive holds substantial records relating to St Non's Retreat. These include two brown envelopes of photographs of the retreat, church, well, and scenery; photographs of Confirmations at St Non's in 1964, presided over by Abbot Samson of Caldey during the Second Vatican Council, showing Fathers Pius Rotherham and Francis McCaffrey; and photographs of the exterior of the retreat and church from later decades.
The formal records of the community are preserved: a Platea covering 1939 to 1968, a Chapter Book covering 1940 to 1967, a Book of Missions and Retreats covering 1939 to 1965, and a Visitation Book covering 1940 to 1985. Property files in the archive include papers on the purchase of the site, the construction of a new wing, and files on the possible disposal of the property from both the 1950s and the 1970s.
Source: Minsteracres,_St_Non's catalogue (Provincial Archive).