Mary MacKillop's Sisters

′It′s the nuns I remember. An oddity to outsiders; mainstream to any Catholic. Hardly a classroom was without one. They were young and in charge, and role models for the girls who looked up at them from the desks. They weren′t part of the clergy; they couldn′t take Holy Orders like priests ... but they were leaders, career women, women in the church who had a role, an alternative authority, belonging to a community of convent life which, like their heavy...
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′It′s the nuns I remember. An oddity to outsiders; mainstream to any Catholic. Hardly a classroom was without one. They were young and in charge, and role models for the girls who looked up at them from the desks. They weren′t part of the clergy; they couldn′t take Holy Orders like priests ... but they were leaders, career women, women in the church who had a role, an alternative authority, belonging to a community of convent life which, like their heavy clothing, separated them from everyday society. ′ It was Mary MacKillop′s miracles of healing that led her to be canonised as Australia′s first saint, but perhaps her greatest and most important legacy to the world was the religious order she founded over a century ago. Mary MacKillop′s sisters - the sisters of Saint Joseph - have been teaching and setting up schools all over Australia and New Zealand since 1867, bringing education to those who could not afford it, regardless of their religion. In this fascinating collection of interviews, Anne Henderson reveals the inner lives of the sisters of Saint Joseph. Through their own words, the sisters reflect on their work, their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and what these mean in the modern world. Providing a fascinating insight into the lives of these inspiring and deeply committed women, Mary MacKillop′s Sisters is an invaluable social history and a fascinating read.