Irish Loreto sister receives honorary doctorate for work with girls in South Sudan crisis

ACI Africa, Oct 8, 2025 / 13:00 pm

St. Patrick’s Pontifical University in Maynooth, Ireland, has conferred an honorary doctorate to Sister Orla Treacy , whose work spanning 19 years in South Sudan has transformed the lives of hundreds of girls in the war-torn east African nation.

In attendance at the Sept. 27 ceremony was Archbishop Eamon Martin of the Archdiocese of Armagh ; Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan , the pioneer resident apostolic nuncio to South Sudan; and representatives of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), popularly known as Loreto Sisters, where Treacy is a member.

Conferring the doctorate was director of education programs at St. Patrick’s Pontifical University, Father John-Paul Sheridan , who lauded Treacy’s dedication at the Loreto boarding