OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

← The Dominican Sisters Of St Joseph

2024-12-31-accounts

THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH (REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1050485)

TRUSTEES' REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Dominican Sisters of St Joseph Trustees report – January to December 2024

About the Charity

The Dominican Sisters of St Joseph is a Roman Catholic congregation of religious sisters, registered as a UK Charity, number: 1050485.

11 sisters form the religious congregation. They live together in St Dominic’s Priory, Shirley Holms Road, Lymington, SO41 8NH, which is the charity’s address.

The current trustees of the charity are:

Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, OP Sr Mary Benedicta Obiora, OP Sr Carino Hodder, OP (appointed 4 January 2025) Sr Lucy Cahill, OP (appointed 4 January 2025)

At the head of the charity is the prioress (superior) of the congregation, Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, OP. elected in January 2025. She is advised by her council consisting of the sub-prioress and 2 elected members. The prioress is elected for a 3-year term. The charity’s trustees are the members of the council of the congregation. Three members, including the prioress, are elected by the life-long members of the community, and one, the sub-prioress, is nominated by the prioress.

The charity is regulated by the Constitutions of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph, established and approved as a religious congregation on the 5[th] of July 1994.

All 11 sisters are listed as volunteers in the charity. In addition, 21 lay persons are listed as volunteers due to their occasional participation in the charity’s activities. These include the community’s chaplain and volunteers at the community’s youth camp. The charity has no employees.

From the 1[st] of January to the 31[st] of December 2024, the trustees of the charity were:

Sr Julie Marsh-Collis, OP (Prioress) Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, OP Sr Mary Benedicta Obiora, OP Sr Michelle Hawkes, OP

1

Aims and Purpose

The community of the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph aims to provide a welcoming place of daily worship of God, where all can share in the prayer of the sisters, inperson and online.

The sisters work in pastoral outreach to adults, young people, and children, to further the mission of the Catholic Church at the service of all people through the proclamation of the Gospel, online and in-person.

The work of the community is particularly focused on training parish catechists, who will be able to serve the needs of their own parishes more efficiently thanks to the formation received from the sisters, thus impacting the wider community of the Church and its influence on society.

To achieve the aims listed above, the charity provides for the needs of the sisters, who live together under one roof, and for the needs of their chaplain.

Objectives and Activities

The Dominican Sisters of St Joseph are responsible for the maintenance of the priory which is their home, open to all for prayer and day retreats for groups and individuals. The priory is situated in the New Forest, in a remote area of natural beauty which is ideal for prayer, recollection, and contemplation.

Making the priory a safe place to come is a priority of the community, which ensures that health and safety regulations are followed, and that safeguarding measures are implemented under the overseeing authority of the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and with the help of the Religious Life Safeguarding Service (RLSS). The safeguarding imperative extends to all areas of the sisters’ life and work, within and beyond the boundaries of the priory.

The worship of the sisters, open to all and shared by many, in-person and online, consists in the daily celebration of Mass, of the Divine Office and other prayers. For this purpose, the upkeep of a dedicated chaplain at the priory is essential.

The apostolic outreach of the sisters, called Light of Truth , is carried out both online and in-person, at the priory or in the various places where they are invited to teach and form others. The outreach of the sisters aims at helping people grow in faith, in confidence, and in virtue, developing their knowledge of the faith, their relationship with God, and their ability to help others to grow in faith and love of God and neighbour. The sisters’ work is focused on forming formators.

Through their public worship and their pastoral outreach, the sisters are working practically and explicitly for the advancement of religion, in keeping with their charitable purposes, as stated in their governing document.

2

Achievements and Performance in 2024

Community, worship, and prayer

The Dominican Sisters of St Joseph dedicate at least 4 hours a day to public worship which all can join in-person or online. On average, 30 persons join the sisters weekly for their worship in the chapel. The total number of online participations to the sisters’ worship in 2024 was 259,704, of which 146,039 were unique viewers from 124 countries for a total of 269,607 hours of viewing time.

The most important part of the sisters’ prayer is the celebration of Mass. In 2024, they made provisions for a resident chaplain, Fr Michael Shakeel Gill, OP, to come over from Pakistan, from February to the end of April. He was replaced in May by Fr Thomas Skeats, OP, who has become their permanent chaplain. As it is necessary for the chaplain to live on-site, the sisters equipped a bungalow on the grounds of their property for that purpose.

Pastoral work at the priory

Below is a summary list of the work carried on in 2024 by the Dominican sisters of St Joseph for groups or individuals who came to the priory:

In-person pastoral outreach beyond the priory

Below is a summary of the pastoral work carried out by the sisters, in person, in various locations in the UK and Ireland:

3

Online pastoral outreach and formation

4

Development and launch of a 2-year Certificate in Catechesis

5

Community membership and formation

The entirety of the sisters’ work as a charity is dependent on their own membership, individual well-being, community development and formation. In 2024, the following achievements took place:

In terms of membership, Sr Amata was clothed as a novice, having lived in the community for one year as a postulant, and Sr Lucy made perpetual vows as lifelong member of the community after 6 years of formation.

In terms of intellectual formation, the sisters provide weekly 4 hours of in-house formation for new members, as well as online formation sourced from different providers. Formation sessions and conferences have been organised as part of the on-going formation of all the sisters. All the sisters are given the opportunity to study every weekday for two hours. Sr Carino completed her Bachelor in Divinity after 5 years of study, and Sr Hyacinthe completed her PhD after 4 years of study, both part-time.

Since singing is at the heart of the sisters’ worship, the community invited a professional music teacher to give the sisters communal and individual singing lessons every week. This has made a tremendous impact on the sisters’ worship.

In November 2024, a canonical visitation of the community took place, led by Abbot Xavier Perrin, from Quarr Abbey, to assess the human and spiritual health of the community as a whole, its fidelity to its vocation and goals, and identify areas of weakness and growth. Abbot Perrin’s report was positive, with a special commendation given to Sr Julie, the prioress at the time, for her leadership. The visitation was an opportunity for all the sisters to review their life and to renew their commitment for the future development of the community and its work at the service of the people they can reach through their worship and ministry.

Financial Review

2024 saw an increase of £34,518 in income from the previous year. The greater part of £203,085 was earned by the Dominican Sisters of St Joseph or donated to them in 2024. This figure includes also gift aid, investments, pensions, and care allowances, as well as rent income.

This increase in income is mainly accounted for by the launch of the 2-year Certificate in Catechesis with its fees set at £495 a year per student. This is a new and stable source of income for the Dominican sisters. The significance of the certificate fees in the breakdown is visible under ‘standard earned income’ which shows a variance of £39,304 from the previous year, for a total of £86,936 in earned income.

6

Total expenditure has decreased from £206,067 to £179,979. However 2024 includes significant spend on capital items – if this is excluded other expenditure has increased by £21,752 from the previous year, with a total figure of £175,593. The increase in expenditure was due to the higher cost of living, especially regarding heat, light, and power (£7,634 increase from 2023 for a total of £21,617), but also to necessary maintenance work on the priory, carrying out essential repairs and alterations. For instance, an entire block of derelict wooden stables was destroyed on the grounds, and essential plumbing work was undertaken in the house. The priory is an Edwardian house with extensions which needs constant care, maintenance, and repair. This maintenance extends to the grounds of 2.5 acres.

The 2024 expenditure also included the travelling and visa expenses of the Pakistani priest who served as chaplain for a couple of months, as well as the equipment of his bungalow. Another new area of expenditure was the investment in the software equipment necessary to run the new Certificate course.

The 11 sisters who form the community endeavour to live frugally, and this is reflected in the household costs and stipends figure, which, notwithstanding higher costs of living, remained at a similar level at £33,468 compared to £33,635 in the previous year.

In view of a slightly higher income in 2024 but also of the lower expenditure, the charity made a surplus to £23,106, which is kept as an emergency fund, especially for unexpected breakdowns of equipment or unplanned and urgent repairs to the house.

Reserves policy

The reserves policy of the charity is to keep cash reserves to cover 3-6 months operational expenditure, whilst also being mindful of the significant property maintenance costs that arise. Total cash funds at 31 December 2024 were £176,070.

Approved by the Trustees on 20 October 2025

Signed on their behalf by

Madforet tow

Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, OP

Trustee

7

INDEPENDENT EXAMINERS REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH

I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Dominican Sisters of St Joseph for the year ended 31 December 2024 which are set out on pages 9 to 10.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charites Act 2011 ('the Act').

I report in respect of my examination of the Trustee’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent Examiners Statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

(1) accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

(2) the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

J E Harris FCCA

20 October 2025

Knight Goodhead Limited Chartered Accountants 7 Bournemouth Road Chandler's Ford Eastleigh Hampshire SO53 3DA

8

THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH

Registered Charity No. 1050485

RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

RECEIPTS
Donations and legacies
Repository sales
FLC sales
Fundraising
Investment income
Other income
Pensions and care allowance
Solar panel income
Standard earned income
Rental income
Fees earned
Priory visitors
Fanning the flame
Light of Truth
TOTAL RECEIPTS
PAYMENTS
Grants and donations paid
Fanning the flame
Good for resale - repository
FLC materials
Rates
Light and heat
Travel and subsistence
Motor costs
Telephone, internet and office costs
Repairs, maintenance and other premises costs
Purchase of capital items
Course expenses
Insurance
Chapel expenses
Household costs
Bank charges and transaction fees
Stipends
Legal and professional fees
Subscriptions
Funerals and burials
TOTAL PAYMENTS
NET INCOME/(PAYMENTS)
CASH FUNDS AT 1 JANUARY
CASH FUNDS AT 31 DECEMBER		 Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Total
funds
funds
2024
2023
£
£
£
£
55,325
-
55,325
52,433
9,581
-
9,581
9,469
6,562
-
6,562
1,683
60
-
60
203
2,194
-
2,194
1,380
42
-
42
3,814
41,149
-
41,149
50,687
1,236
-
1,236
1,266
1,800
-
1,800
1,800
8,282
-
8,282
7,092
12,197
-
12,197
9,339
15,311
-
15,311
13,059
49,346
-
49,346
16,342
203,085
-
203,085
168,567
4,675
-
4,675
3,038
17,726
-
17,726
14,286
1,864
-
1,864
1,743
6,100
-
6,100
3,752
2,569
-
2,569
2,511
21,617
-
21,617
13,983
10,334
-
10,334
5,075
10,377
-
10,377
9,509
6,138
-
6,138
11,640
37,139
-
37,139
26,100
4,386
-
4,386
52,226
3,343
-
3,343
11,119
11,052
-
11,052
10,395
4,637
-
4,637
3,518
29,292
-
29,292
27,538
576
-
576
96
4,176
-
4,176
6,097
-
-
-
1,072
3,394
-
3,394
2,369
584
-
584
-
179,979
-
179,979
206,067
23,106
-
23,106
(37,500)
152,964
-
152,964
190,464
176,070
-
176,070
152,964

9

Registered Charity No. 1050485

THE DOMINICAN SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH

STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

2024 2023
£ £
CASH FUNDS
Current account 24,677 21,941
Deposit accounts 150,343 130,742
PayPal 942 -
Cash in hand 108 281
176,070 152,964
OTHER ASSETS
Stock held for resale 700 700
ASSETS RETAINED FOR CHARITY'S OWN USE
Property 1,221,397 1,221,397
Chaplain's Bungalow 328,294 328,294
Motor vehicles 13,359 18,629
Fixtures, fittings and equipment 31,061 32,637
1,594,111 1,600,957

Approved by the committee on 20 October 2025 and signed on its behalf by

Sr Hyacinthe Defos du Rau, OP Trustee

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1 PREPARATION OF ACCOUNTS

The accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.

10