The Sisters of Saint Joseph are delighted to announce that Mary Ryan rsj and Carmel Moore rsj have each been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the King’s Birthday 2025 Honours List for services to the Catholic Church of Australia.
Sr Mary has been recognised for her 53 years work in various roles across the Congregation, including 13 years since she became involved with the Mary MacKillop Precinct in Adelaide, now called the Mary MacKillop Spirituality Centre, Kensington. She successfully steered the museum through a major redevelopment to its reopening in 2019 and has also served as a member of the Adelaide Archdiocesan Pastoral Council for the past three years.
“When I received the notification of my nomination in late March, my first inclination was not to accept, as I was acutely aware of so many other Josephite women, our unsung heroes, whom I greatly admire,” said Sr Mary.
“They have beavered away over the years, doing the things that Josephites do best, with few accolades and minimal publicity. So, I’ll say till I die, that this OAM is for all of ‘us’ – and I only accepted the nomination for that reason.
“While receiving the award is still quite surreal, this has been an amazing week, one I would never have aspired to, or dreamed of. It has gifted me with some very special moments and surprises, and I’m adding these memories to the list of the countless blessings that have come my way since I embarked on my Josephite journey 56 ½ years ago.
“I can’t improve on the words of my hero: We have much for which to be thankful!” (Mary MacKillop 1873)
Sister Carmel Moore rsj, of the Lochinvar Sisters of St Joseph, is a former school teacher, principal and hospital chaplain who has worked on inter-congregational retreat and eco-spirituality teams. Sr Carmel was honoured for her longstanding contribution to the church, particularly through the Living Waters Meditation Centre, which she founded in Newcastle in 1997.
Speaking to the Newcastle Herald, she said the centre was her “life’s main work”.
“I had a need within myself to find silence and inner peace, it was something I craved, even from when I was young,” she said.
Approximately 800 people have attended the meditation centre in the nearly 30 years since it was established, with up to 50 attending the retreat mornings.
Sr Carmel said religious life was very different from when she entered the Sisters of Joseph at Lochinvar 72 years ago.
“We have gone from being a very disciplined and minutely organised group to being free to be the people that we were meant to be,” she said.
“There is a beautiful sense of community among our Sisters. It’s not a rigid community, it’s a friendly and supportive community which allows each of us to use our own special gifts.”
To access the King’s Birthday 2025 Honours List click here.