OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE
Serving the Church communities of St Peter, Shoreham ; Christ the King, Steyning ; The Towers Convent, Upper Beeding
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
The Towers
Part of the parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace - Adur Valley
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament
After escaping France' anti-religious environment at the end of the 19th Century, the Sisters were invited to take up residence in the Towers, where they have resided until this day. The convent and school is renowned for its commitment to excellence in both its focus on education and moral standing and values for all of its pupils.
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The Towers Mission Statement
As a Gospel centred Eucharistic community, we srtive to build a loving community which encourages pupils to grow in the love of God and for each other. Where each individual is equally valued and where all may flourish academically and personally, developing their own talents and valuing the gifts of those around them. We pray that from the security of The Towers, students may acquire the optimism and the strength to go out and engage lovingly with the hopes and cares of the wider human family.
Sr. Mery from Paris arrives to form The Towers...
The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was initially founded by Blessed Peter of France around 1715. He idintified a need to educate the children, and with a small group of 7 women the community began.
At the end of the Nineteenth century, the anti-clerical laws in France forced many of the convents to close.
As a result many of the sisters found themselves travelling to new counties and continents.
Sr. Mery from a convent school in Paris, France arrived in England and founded The Towers after being invited by a family who leased the house at the time.
The school from its humble beginnings has grown over the centuries from initially 5 pupils to 300.
The sister are very much a part of the parish of Our Lady Queen of Peace, and continue to support the community in many ways.
After twenty-three years of service at The Towers and in the parish, Sister Frances has been asked by the Congregation, to move to our Community in Henfield, where the Sisters will be a prayerful presence and support within the Parish of Corpus Christi. This will not be an immediate change for Sister as the convent in Henfield is currently undergoing some refurbishment. She will be greatly missed, particularly for her outreach to the sick and housebound but when regulations permit, she will resume her chaplaincy role at Worthing Hospital. We wish her every blessing in her new mission but happily she is still with us for the foreseeable future. Please remember Sister Frances in your prayers.
You will remember that some time ago, we advised you of the difficulties in ensuring a viable future for the school. Over recent years, the Towers has seen a gradual decline in pupil numbers, which together with an uncertain economic climate, has placed unsustainable pressure on the school’s ability to survive. Despite an exhaustive number of initiatives to help save the school, including negotiations for mergers, all efforts have been unsuccessful. Since December, parents and staff have rallied in support of The Towers to try to find a solution to avoid closure of the school. Having at length carefully considered the proposals put forward by them and with our Governors and our legal and financial advisors having reviewed the risks involved to the Charitable Trust, it is with immense regret that the Sisters have had to take the decision to close the school in July 2020. However, there is a strong hope that Steyning Grammar School will lease The Towers for their Sixth Form provision and the Sisters will be able to open their doors to the wider local community. We are extremely grateful to Fr. Graham, and all the parish community who have been so supportive to us during this very difficult and painful process. We would like to reiterate that the Sisters will remain here, as will Father Tony, and the Chapel will continue to be used in the service of the parish. May God bless you all The Sisters Download the letter here
The sisters at The Tower remember the special days when the congregation would collect blankets to send to the poor in India. We re-collect Mother Teresa's visit - View the rare video footage of the occasion
Historical Documents
Correspondence during the early years of the foundation.
