AJASS: Pilgrims of Hope – Didn’t our hearts burn?!
Twenty years of serving the Josephite Mission The 2025 AJASS (Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools) Principals’ Conference gathered at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney at the end of June with the theme: Pilgrims of Hope – Didn’t our hearts burn?! This was a special event as it marked the twentieth anniversary of the […]
Jubilee 2025: Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities
From 7-8 June, we are invited to celebrate Ecclesial Movement, Associations and New Communities in the Church. For this event, we feature the Josephite Companions. Who are the Josephite Companions? The Josephite Companions Movement (formerly Associates), stemmed from the teaching of the second Vatican Council, this Springtime of the Church, with its vision of Church […]
Virtual Pilgrimage to mark Flora MacKillop’s Death Anniversary
To mark the anniversary of Flora MacKillop’s (Mary MacKillop’s mother) death on 30 May 1886, you are invited to join in this ‘virtual pilgrimage’ to Eden and Green Cape, New South Wales. This excerpt comes from the South-East of New South Wales Pilgrimage which traces the two journeys (1899 and 1901) of Mary MacKillop into […]
Mary goes to Rome: Mary MacKillop Pilgrimage
I am going to Rome… and I go full of hope. Mary MacKillop to her Sisters, 25.3.1873 Like Mary MacKillop, I went to Rome! In January this year, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Jubilee of the World of Communications in Rome. Although Mary and I went to Rome for different reasons and […]
Death of Pope Francis
The Sisters of Saint Joseph join Catholics and people around the world to mourn the death of Pope Francis. We give thanks for his deep faith, his strong leadership, his compassionate heart and his advocacy for justice. Pope Francis cared for the poor and those on the edge. He also had a willingness to meet […]
Mary MacKillop continues to be Ecumenical in Bendigo
A statue of Mary MacKillop was recently placed in the Grand Stupa Buddhist Shrine of Universal Compassion in Bendigo (Victoria) together with a statue of St Francis of Assisi that was already there but in need of restoration. The ceremony for the installation of Mary MacKillop was held in the Peace Garden of the Shrine. […]
JJAMM 2025
We must fan the flame of hope that has been given to us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision. Pope Francis, 11.02.2022 Pope Francis’ words capture the spirit of JJAMM (Joseph, Julian And Mary MacKillop) 2025, a […]
Australia Day 2025 – Reflect, Respect and Celebrate
As dawn emerges on Australia Day 2025, citizens are called to reflect on all that this day holds within the diverse realities that shape this day in our national story. Australia Day celebrations in Sydney will begin with a traditional Dawn Reflection – a time to reflect on Australia’s history and its future as the […]
30th Anniversary of Mary MacKillop’s Beatification
Thirty years ago in 1995, I found myself in the very privileged role of President of the Australian-New Zealand Federation of Sisters of St Joseph, which was comprised of the diocesan congregations of Perthville, Lochinvar, Goulburn, Tasmania and New Zealand. Randwick Racecourse in Sydney was the ideal place for Mary MacKillop’s beatification ceremony. On entering […]
Celebrating Mary MacKillop’s Birthday
As we celebrate Mary’s birthday again on 15 January 2025, it is very fitting that her birthsite has recently been upgraded and made more accessible to visitors. The birthsite in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, became a building site in 2022. St Vincent’s Private Hospital, that occupies the site, planned to build additional wards and theatres into […]
New Year 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope
As we begin this New Year, we give thank for all the blessings, memories and gifts of 2024. It was year filled with many joys and many challenges as people faced economic hardship, the loss of loved ones, war and climatic changes among other things. There were also moments when we rejoiced in the good […]
Christmas Message 2024
As we come to celebrate Christmas this year, we are mindful of the many places in our world troubled by wars, violence, climatic issues, economic disadvantage, and endless challenges. We are invited to walk with Mary and Joseph on the road to the Bethlehem’s of our heart. All was not well in the time […]