New Julian Tenison Woods Exhibition at MMHC
The Mary MacKillop Heritage Centre (MMHC) in Melbourne is proud to present a new exhibition on Fr Julian Tenison Woods. The temporary exhibition focuses on the 10 years Julian Tenison Woods lived and worked as a priest in Penola and the surrounding South Australian countryside, exploring Julian’s work as a missionary priest, his scientific endeavours […]
A Birthday Memory of a Visionary
The significant connection between England and Australia was not fully recognised on 15 November 1832, the birth of Julian Tenison Woods. Julian’s early life amidst frequent changes of residence, provided the space for developing and pursuing his lifetime interest in reading, discovering, and recording nature through sketching and sharing. The following years were dotted with […]
Anniversary of Father Founder Julian Tenison Woods
This death anniversary (7 October) of Father Founder, Julian Tenison Woods, comes at a time of worldwide concern for our environment and all people, especially the most impoverished. ln this crisis we look to Father Woods, a natural scientist ahead of his time in recognising the interconnection of all creatures. His scientific peers wrote after […]
The Foundations of the Josephite Charism across NSW
Our First Three Seedbeds The story of the presence of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in New South Wales (NSW) grew from three distinct seedbeds – with the planting of the Josephite charism by our pioneering Sisters. These small seedbeds were planted with love, grew out of the soil of trust in God’s Providence and […]
Father Founder – A Tasmanian Connection
In education these days, there is a practice where a teacher may use a ‘provocation’. This is an object or artefact, a photo or a poem that is a stimulus for thought and discussion. A launching pad for learning. In writing this reflection, and thinking about Father’s Day (4 September), and the role of Julian […]
Looking forward to the next 150 years at Perthville
The Sisters of Saint Joseph marked the 150th anniversary of when the first Sisters of Saint Joseph arrived in Perthville to begin ministry in New South Wales on 16 July 2022. The first community of sisters, Teresa MacDonald, Joseph Dwyer and Hyacinth Quinlan, and an enquirer, Ada Braham, arrived at Perthville near Bathurst at the […]
Julian Tenison Woods – 150 Years On!
On 16 July 2022, the Sisters of Saint Joseph celebrated 150 years of the Congregation’s presence in New South Wales since their arrival in Perthville in 1872. What would it be like for Fr Julian Tenison Woods to speak to us in this year of sesquicentenary? 150 years on, this is what I imagine he […]
Father Julian and the Westbury Letters
Father Julian Tenison Woods had a deep connection with Tasmania over many years. As a missioner, he encouraged many young women to join both the Sisters of Saint Joseph on the mainland and the founding group of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Aware of the needs in Tasmania, Fr Julian wrote to St Mary MacKillop […]
There will be no such thing
Sr Mary-Ann shares a reflection on her favourite quote from Julian Tenison Woods. Father Julian Tenison Woods’ writings are sprinkling with delightfully lyrical and sometimes pithy pieces. I find myself returning to words he penned in 1880: There will be no such thing as sameness in the objects, no such thing as tameness in the […]
Reflecting on illness and death
Life blooms and suddenly… Monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily, we hear news of the death of yet another treasured, loved, Sister and friend. Sadness grips our hearts and minds. It feels as though our dreams and visions for the future are slipping away. Could it be that this Congregation, founded by Julian and Mary, is […]
The Legacy of Julian Tenison Woods and the Earth Charter
In every generation, voices of prophets remind us that God has charged humans with the care of our common home, Earth. The examples of our first peoples, and of individuals like Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart and the Medieval Women Mystics come to mind. In our day, too, we cite Pope Francis in his encyclical […]
The Struggles and Gifts of Father Julian Tenison Woods
Bear in mind what struggles our life has come through and what opposition it has had. Julian Tenison Woods 1887 This is the instruction on the first page of the 2022 Josephite Calendar and was written by Fr Julian Tenison Woods, two years before his death. I wonder what struggles of which he had been […]