Tag: Marist Sisters in Australia

130 Years of Marist Fidelity

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOn Pentecost Sunday 2014 Marist Sisters in Australia came together to celebrate the Jubilees of Srs Gabriel Forster (70 years) and Sr Patricia Bartley (60 years).  Frs Paul Mahony sm and Chris Sarkis were the main celebrants at the Mass of Pentecost during which Srs Gabriel and Patricia renewed their vows.

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At the beginning of Mass a heart containing the names of all who had begun their Marist novitiate in Oceania was placed on the statue of Mary symbollic of the fact that as we are chosen by Mary she carries us in her heart.  After Mass the celebration continued with afternoon tea during which there was a sharing on the lives of the jubilarians and the cutting of the jubilee cake.  Between them Srs Gabriel and Patricia have ministered in five countries.  More photos…

NAIDOC Week 2013

NAIDOC celebrations are held around Australia each year in July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme for this year’s celebration celebrates the 50th anniversary of the presentation of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions to the Federal Parliament.  The petitions protested the Commonwealth’s granting of mining rights on land excised from Arnhem Land reserve and sought the recognition the Australian Parliament of the Yolngu people’s traditional rights and ownership of their lands.  The petitions were the first traditional documents recognised by the Commonwealth parliament and helped to shape the nation’s acknowledgment of Aboriginal people and their land rights.

Marist Sisters in Australia rejoice in the rich heritage of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  We pray that their culture may be treasured and respected by us all.

Golden and Diamond Jubilarians

Srs Gemma, Mary, Veronica and Marie Renew Their Vows

 

Marist Sisters in Australia gathered recently to celebrate 210 years of faithful Marist commitment.  Srs Mary Farrelly and Gemma Pearson celebrated their Golden Jubilee while Srs Marie Clarke and Veronica Taylor celebrated their Diamond Jubilee.

Cutting the Jubilee Cake

 

 

 

Fr Gary Reynolds sm led the Eucharistic Thanksgiving in the Woolwich College Chapel for which music was provided by Marist lay friends, Margaret Woods, Anita Fry and Suzie Whitaker.  We were joined too by some family members who enjoyed the chance to mingle afterwards over delicious refreshments at Marian House.  All agreed we have much to thank God for in these four Marist women!

Refugees & Asylum Seekers

The global situation in this area is worrying.  Many thousands are fleeing their countries of origin, leaving their homes, because they are at risk of losing their lives.  There are people in our midst in Australia who share their stories of prison and torture, stories of so many family members who had been killed.

As Marist Sisters in Australia, we ally ourselves with many Australians who care and who desire to see our government put in place policies that are compassionate.  We are concerned about recent happenings.

On 7th November, the Haberfield community of the Marist Sisters, attended a screening of “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”.  The evening was hosted by Amnesty International, Edmund Rice Centre and the House of Welcome, all of whom addressed the audience before the movie, sharing their concerns as groups who are engaged in helping refugees and asylum seekers.  The movie treats of the plight of asylum seekers who attempt to make their way to Australia by boat, through Indonesia.

Boat journeys are in fact a big risk and many lives have been lost at sea.  People who venture on these journeys are desperate.  With many other Australians who are presently feeling shame with regard to current policies in this area, we would urge Australia to put in place  measures, including those from the Houston Report, that would facilitate access to the granting of refugee status and visas to our shores.

Fourvière Celebrations in Sydney

Members of the Marist Family gathered in Hunters Hill to celebrate the anniversary of Fourvière. Sr Gail Reneker sm, Sector Leader of the Marist Sisters in Australia, welcomed everyone on behalf of the Marist Sisters who hosted this years event.

The theme of this years celebration, “In Our Hands Now,” reminded us of the responsibility that is now ours to carry on the work begun by the seminarians who, in 1816, pledged themselves to begin the Marist Family.

For more photos click here.

195 Years of Marist Profession Celebrated

Srs Fidelis & Margaret

Marist Sisters in Australia recently celebrated the jubilees of Sr Margaret Cummins (70years) and Sr Fidelis McTeigue (50years).  During the Mass, celebrated by Kevin Bates sm in the Marist Sisters’ College chapel in Woolwich, Margaret and Fidelis renewed their vows and received a Papal Blessing.

Sr Doreen McOscar

Afternoon tea was served at Marian House and the celebrations continued in the community room with a sing-along and the signing of a 50th anniversary banner made for Fidelis by her family in Ireland to mark this memorable occasion.

Earlier  this year Sr Doreen McOscar had celebrated her 75th jubilee more quietly.

Click here for more photos

Centenary of Marist Sisters in Australia

Centenary Banner

On 30th December 1907 three Marist Sisters arrived in Sydney to make a foundation in Australia . To celebrate the centenary of this event there has been a year of celebration. On 30th December 2007 there was a re-enactment of the arrival of the three sisters, Mother Melanie, Sr Cyrille and Sr Odilon. This arrival in Australia was a further fulfillment of Jeanne-Marie Chavoin’s dream  of having Marist Sisters in Oceania. In March a Mass was held in St Brigid’s Church Millers Point to celebrate this fact. It was a fitting location because it was in the sacristy of this church that the first Marist Sisters missioned to Oceania had slept when on their way to Fiji in 1892. In April Sr Joan McBride presented a talk on the mission of the Marist Sisters in Australia over the last hundred years. We recalled with gratitude the lives of deceased Marist Sisters who have ministered in Australia with a ceremony of remembrance at the cemetries where our sisters our buried on 1st November. The culmination of our Centenary Year was a Centenary Mass on Sunday 7th December.This Mass, attended by members of the five branches of the Marist Family as well as relatives and friends of the Marist Sisters, was a celebration of thanksgiving for all that God has done in, through us and for us over the last 100 years. For more photos of Centenary events select one of the following links.

Re-enactment Ceremony           Mass at St Brigids         Sr Joan McBride’s Talk

Ceremony of Remembrance            Centenary Mass