At the beginning of September 1960, four Grey Sisters touched down at the small airstrip at Rock Sound on Eleuthra Island in the Bahamas, welcomed by Scarboro missionary Father Paul Pendergast and parishioners of St. Ann’s parish.

Annals dated September 3, 1960, end with: “A hurricane is brewing south of us and warnings have been raised.” Thus began a ministry that would last for more than 40 years, involving some 20 members of the Grey Sister community.

Anchoring the work on Eleuthra Island was the education project in St. Anne’s Primary School in Rock Sound under the leadership of Sisters Saint Angela (1960-1966), Teresa Cannon (1966-1971) and Mary Lucia (1971-1995). In addition, service included teaching English to Haitian workers, care of the sick and elderly, as well as religious education and parish work. In the 1990s, Sister Zita O’Grady trained religious education teaches for all the Catholic parishes on the whole of Eleuthra Island as well as assisting in the administration of two of the parishes.

In 2003, the Grey Sisters returned to Canada, leaving a legacy of service, reflected in part by the fact that St. Anne’s school was in the capable hands of a former student – fulfilling the desire that leadership of the school would be in Bahamian hands.

Four years after the mission in Rock Sound had been established, the Grey Sisters opened a house in the capital city of Nassau, beginning with work in a Primary School and later in a Junior High School. Over the years, the education ministries evolved into parish ministry, religious education and social ministry.

In the 1980s, Sister Sheila Finnerty introduced and organized the RCIA program for the Diocese of Nassau; Sister Mary Mulligan served on a team whose mandate was to train volunteers to accompany those with HIV/AIDS; and Sister Teresa Morrissey volunteered at a Crisis Centre, responding to the needs of women and children in crisis. As with the work in Rock Sound, these ministries either started with or evolved into Bahamian leadership.

The Grey Sisters ended their ministries in the Bahamas in 1994.