Corrigan was born in
Liverpool in 1908 to a large family. She learned to play the organ at an early age and by age 15 was working as an organist at a local church. She then won an organ scholarship from the
Archdiocese of Liverpool. While studying Gregorian Chant at
Stanbrook Abbey in
Worcestershire, she met
Dame Laurentia McLachan, who would later inspire Corrigan to become a nun. Corrigan read English at the
University of Liverpool, delivering a dissertation on the poet
Coventry Patmore. In 1934, the 25 year-old Corrigan entered Stanbrook Abbey as a novice. She became a nun and eventually the Abbey
choir director. One of her projects was to develop an English version of the office of
Compline for the abbey. Corrigan wrote the book
The Nun, the Infidel, and the Superman (1985). It was about the friendships between McLachlan and
George Bernard Shaw and the scholar
Sir Sydney Cockerell. The book was adapted into
The Best of Friends, a
play by
Hugh Whitemore that was staged in the
West End of London. It also became a
film for television starring
Wendy Hiller. In the course of her career, Felicitas corresponded with poet
Siegfried Sassoon, actor
Alec Guinness; and novelist
Rumer Godden. Corrigan's
biography of
Helen Waddell was awarded the 1986
James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Corrigan also wrote about
Hildegard of Bingen and edited publications for the Stanbrook Abbey Press. Her other works include: •
In a Great Tradition: Tribute to Dame Laurentia McLachlan, Abbess of Stanbrook (1956) •
George Thomas of Soho (1970) • ''Siegfried Sassoon: Poet's Pilgrimage'' (1973) •
Benedictine Tapestry (1991) Corrigan was Stanbrook Abbey's organist from 1933 until 1990. She died at
Cheltenham on 7 October 2003. ==References==