The historical significance of Ireland and the Sisters of Mercy was celebrated at Mercy College in Koondoola recently as the College community gathered to commemorate 180 years since the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in Western Australia and the blessing and opening of two new facilities – the Dublin technologies building and Comfort Café school cafeteria.
With the temperature dipping down to 18 degrees at the College and 20 degrees in Dublin, Ireland, it was a fitting connection to the city where Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831.
On 8 January 1846, six pioneering Sisters of Mercy stepped ashore at Fremantle following a long journey from Ireland. The next day, they sailed up the Swan River to Perth, beginning a remarkable story of faith, courage, education and service in Western Australia.
Led by Sister Ursula Frayne, the pioneering group included Sister Catherine Gogarty, Sister Anne Xavier Dillon, Sister Baptist O’Donnell, Sister Aloysius Kelly and Sister Ignatia de la Hoyde. They were joined in Perth by Evangelista O’Reilly, the community’s first postulant.
At the anniversary celebration, the College was honoured to welcome 12 Sisters of Mercy: Sister Joanne Dickson, Sister Joan Smith, Sister Breda O’Reilly, Sister Catherine O’Connor, Sister Mary O’Connor, Sister Marie Fitzgerald, Sister Maura Kelleher, Sister Joan Kelleher, Sister Janina Pascoe, Sister Noreen Cahill, Sister Jo Dillon and Sister Anne Foale.
The opening of the new facilities during this significant anniversary year provided a tangible reminder of the influence that the Mercy charism continues to have.
