Since August 2013 we have been sending loving congratulations to our sister congregation, The Sisters of Charity of Australia. The Sisters are celebrating 175 years since the first five women religious arrived on the shores of Australia on 31st December 1838: Sisters of Charity sent from Ireland by Mary Aikenhead. This year has been marked by a series of events in many of the significant places where the sisters have lived and ministered since those early days.
Below are the links to the videos of each of these events. There is also a link to the DVD entitled ‘Five Sisters’ which explains the first five sisters’ motivation for making such a dangerous journey; how the mission grew throughout the eastern states of Australia and where you will find sisters ministering in Australia today.
Five Sisters DVD
The video of the final celebration for the year which was held in
St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney on 14 August.
Mass for Religious held at St Joseph’s Church, Hobart on Saturday June 21st, 2014 – the Church where Mother Mary John Cahill, Sr Mary de Sales O’Brien and Sr Mary Xavier Williams worshipped every day for the rest of their lives.
Tasmania – join the Sisters as they visit Mt Carmel College, Cascades Female Factory, St Aloysius School and the Cornelian Bay Cemetery.
Recorded at the Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane on 31st May, 2014.
Mass for Religious held at Cathedral Church of St Patrick, Parramatta, New South Wales on April 5th, 2014 – the date closest to the day when Eliza Francis Xavier Williams became the first Religious in Australia to pronounce Vows.
On Tuesday December 31 all the Australian Sisters gathered in Potts Point and Auburn [NSW], Kew and Clayton [Victoria], Brisbane [Qld], Taroona [Tasmania] and the other places where the Sisters live, to celebrate with joy and thanksgiving the arrival of the first five women religious in Australia. This is the webcast of the celebration in Potts Point. The sisters delighted in the presence of Sister Mary Christian and Sister Phyllis Behan.
‘Impelled by Christ’s Love – 175 Years Serving in Australia’ Book Launch,
Government House, Sydney – 15th August 2013
To view photographs of many of these events click HERE to go to our Australian Congregation Photo Gallery.
