Sister of St Joseph

When Mary formally dedicated her life to God as the first Sister of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, she made four vows in accordance with the 1867 Josephite Rule: poverty, chastity, obedience and a promise to promote ‘the love of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the hearts of little children’.

In the ensuing years Sister Mary of the Cross showed strong and inspirational leadership in the development of schools and charitable institutions run by this dynamic order, founded to meet the specific needs of the Australian colonies, which were so different from Europe.

She experienced the devastating shock of excommunication. She showed courage in undertaking a trip to Rome to seek Papal approval of her Josephite Rule, particularly the issue of the Sisters’ being centrally governed, which proved so threatening for many bishops. She suffered the heart-breaking estrangement from Father Woods and the deaths of close family members. Through it all she felt ‘the calm, beautiful presence of God’.

Mary died in Sydney at the age of sixty-seven, having lived an exemplary life. Her acceptance of all people regardless of religious, racial, or cultural differences make her a saint for all Australians: ‘Do not be afraid. Love one another, bear with one another, and let charity guide you in all your life.’

For more information, please see A Saint for all Australians and The Canonisation Process.