The Sisters of Mercy, in the spirit of Catherine McCauley, are called to be in a very particular and unmistakable way living images of God‘s mercy as it is made known to us in the life, teachings and ministry of Jesus, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has said.
Speaking at the 180th anniversary Mass of the Sisters of Mercy at St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday 8 January, Archbishop Costelloe was joined for the occasion by Vicar General, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn, Geraldton Bishop Michael Morrissey, Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey, Cathedral Dean, Rev Dr Sean Fernandez, Fr Peter Bianchini as MC and several other clergy from across the Archdiocese.
Led by Mother Ursula Frayne, the group of six Sisters of Mercy and one lay woman became the first religious congregation of women to settle in Australia – specifically on the banks of the Swan River, in Perth, Western Australia – on 8 January 1846.
Upon their arrival, the Sisters of Mercy established the first secondary school in WA that would later become Mercedes College, along with a ministry of service that expanded across Australia into areas including education, healthcare, aged care, and social justice.
In the years that followed, Sisters of Mercy congregations were established in Australia by sisters who arrived from other parts of Ireland, England and Argentina. Further foundations also grew out of these initial foundations across Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Hundreds packed St Mary’s Cathedral, including Sisters of Mercy Australia and Papua New Guinea Leader, Sr Karen Donnellon RSM, current and past Mercy Sisters, priests, fellow religious, Mercycare and Mercy Ministry Companions representatives, teachers and students past and present, invited guests, and those inspired by the sisters’ charism.
Music for the event was led by Cathedral Master of Music Dominic Perissinotto, Choir Director Claire Waterhouse, Cantor Nadia Santarini and the Mercedes College Alumni Choir.
The Mass was also prefaced by a symbolic commentary that used large artistic banners displayed on the pillars of St Mary’s Cathedral to depict The Arrival, The Mission, The Challenge and The Mercy.
In his homily, Archbishop Costelloe recalled the trepidation the foundation sisters likely experienced following their arrival in Western Australia.
“If we cast a glance down Victoria Avenue to where the Pro-Cathedral stands in all its simplicity and poverty, and imagine it there with nothing much else around it, it is possible to catch something of that sense of surprise, concern, and perhaps even a certain fear as that first small group of women from Ireland came face-to-face with the reality that awaited them,” he said.
“Perhaps, like Mary in the story of the annunciation, their surprise, their concern, and their uncertainty about the future gave away to something deeper: a recognition that they were following in the footsteps of the Lord to whom they had consecrated their lives and who had promised always to be with them through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.”
Speaking about Catherine McCauley‘s charism of the recognition of Jesus Christ as the one whom she was called to follow, and as the one whom she invited her sisters to follow, Archbishop Costelloe said the Sisters of Mercy were called to be living images of God’s mercy as it is made known to us in the life, teaching and ministry of Jesus.
“Ever since their arrival in 1846, the Sisters of Mercy have sought to live among us as signs and bearers of God’s compassionate love and mercy, reminding us by their example and witness that this is the vocation given to us all.
“In ways known only to God, they have touched and transformed the lives of countless people, allowing God to work through them to bring light to those in darkness, hope to those who despair, faith to those who have lost faith and freedom to those oppressed by poverty, by isolation, by rejection and by abandonment.
“The sisters have touched and transformed the lives of countless people, allowing God to work through them, to bring light to those who know, hope to those who despair, faith to those who have lost faith and freedom to those who are oppressed by poverty, isolation, rejection or abandonment.
“Today is a day for giving voice to our gratitude to God for the gift of the Mercy charism, for the gift of those women who in the past and still today make that gift real and tangible, and for the gift of all those with whom the sisters continue to share their vision and who accept the challenge of carrying that vision forward in the changing circumstances of the present and the still-to-emerge challenges and opportunities of the future.
“We join the sisters today as they praise the God of love and tenderness; as they renew their faith in God; and as they commit themselves anew to responding to all that God is asking of them. May we learn from them to say, with them, “Here we are, the servants of the Lord. Let God’s will be done in our lives”.
Sr Karon Donnellon RSM, Leader of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua New Guinea, said the anniversary was a day of great celebration.
“We commemorate and give thanks to God for the arrival of our particular charism of Mercy in Australia 180 years ago, and the remarkable journey that began with the faith and courage of Ursula, Catherine, Anne Xavier, Baptist, Aloysius, Ignacia and Evangelista.
“While the journey over the past 180 years has at times been imperfect, we express gratitude to the women and men who have been inspired by Catherine McAuley’s expression of Mercy to make a positive difference in the lives of others by being a merciful presence in changing times.
“We also remember those who are no longer with us, those on whose shoulders we so proudly stand, and without whom we would not be here today.
“Millions of people across Australia have been educated, nursed, housed, accompanied in their hour of need, kept full and fed through these primary acts of mercy.
“And so today, my prayer for each of us is that we practice holiness in our time – in the way that Catherine did in her time – that we take inspiration from the past 180 years of lived mercy, and that we seek a future viewed with courage, with hope and with joy.”
A sumptuous morning tea concluded the celebration and provided the perfect opportunity for old friends and acquaintances to reconnect.
