By Caroline Smith
The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart have last month celebrated their 150th anniversary with a Mass at South Perth.
Celebrated by Father Greg Donovan, and concelebrated by South Perth Parish Priest Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin, the Mass was held on 18 March at St Columba’s Church, and organised in co-operation with St Columba’s Primary School with whom the Sisters have a long association.
St Columba’s Assistant Principal, Ondine Komnick, said she is proud of the students’ contribution to the celebration, telling The eRecord about the Year 4 and Pre-Primary ‘buddy groups’ that had a particular role to play in leading the Mass.
“The Year 4s brought in the symbols, and the little (Pre-Primary) buddies came in dressed as Mary MacKillop,” she said.
“At the end, they came up and blessed all the sisters.
“It was a full Church for the Mass to which families at the school were invited, and many Sisters and associates joined in the celebration.”
The Order – often known as the Josephite Sisters – has long had a connection with the education system in Perth, and had indeed had a presence in South Perth since 1915 when they took over the running of a ‘Church School’ from the Sisters of Mercy. This later became St Columba’s Primary, and the Josephites taught there until 1985.
Mrs Komnick said that, although the Sisters no longer teach at the school, they still provide a sense of history and value to students. The Sisters’ work in other parts of the community is also often used as a learning tool.
“The convent connection gives the school a sense of belonging, a sense of the richness of what’s come before you, and the value of helping others in the community,” Mrs Komnick said.
“Last year, we started the Junior Joeys group at the school – it’s was all about knowing who Mary MacKillop was, what her values were and reaching out to others in the community in a similar way.”
Junior Joeys are groups of students from Years 4 to 6 at schools with Josephite connections, who gather to share the Order’s values and charism through their faith and outreach work in the local community.
Director of the Mary MacKillop Centre, Josephite Sister, Maree Riddler, said the school has put in place several examples of outreach work in conjunction with Josephite values.
“The Sisters are involved with a shelter for homeless women in Fremantle called the Sisters Place,” she said.
“The parents saw there was a need last year with winter approaching, so a couple of them approached the school and myself.
“They thought it would be a wonderful initiative to collect coats for the homeless women so they did that with the Year 6 class.
“It was about living the charism of the Josephites – where they saw a need and did something about it.”