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Annals highlight missionary focus of the Good Sams
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| 1 August, 2010 |
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| UNFOLDING STORY: Sisters Sophie McGrath rsm, Marilyn Kellher sgs, Clare Condon sgs. |
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Sunday, July 11, was an appropriate day to launch two new volumes of the Annals of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of Saint Benedict.
The feast of St Benedict this year coincided with the Sunday Gospel reading of the parable of the Good Samaritan parable.
Researched and written by Marilyn Kelleher sgs, volume 2 of the Annals documents the history of the congregation from 1939-49; volume 3 covers the period from 1950-59.
These publications build on an original Annals which charted the history of the Good Sams from their beginning in 1857 until 1937.
Congregational leader Sr Clare Condon acknowledged Sr Marilyn’s considerable scholarship and strong academic background in history and literature which she brought to this research and writing project.
Sr Clare also explained the type of history that annals represent. Drawing upon records stored in the archives of the congregation and other institutions, annals are a chronological record and an unfolding story of a group’s life.
In launching the two new volumes, Mercy Sister and historian Dr Sophie McGrath explained that while Sr Marilyn was engaged in first order history – who did what, where and when – her achievement was to also highlight the contextual history surrounding developments in the congregation.
Sr Marilyn explores the involvement of the Good Samaritan Sisters in the fields of education and social welfare against the backdrop of World War II and the subsequent flood of European migrants to Australia.
Dr McGrath said that by making good use of correspondence Sr Marilyn had provided an interesting cross section of the history of the Australian Catholic Church, especially in the eastern States.
“She obviously wanted to present both sides of a particular situation and to be as fair as possible to those in leadership positions both within and without the congregation, including bishops across the various states and dioceses.”
Dr McGrath said the Annals provide “much material for analysis from the perspective of the relationship between men and women leaders in the Church”.
What emerged from the Annals, she noted, was the strong missionary orientation of the Good Sams, “spectacularly demonstrated by half the congregation volunteering for the Japanese mission” in the late 1940s.
“They are truly women of the Church,” she said.
Dr McGrath also highlighted the strong sense of being Benedictine and a marked intellectual tradition in the history of the Good Samaritan Sisters.
Copies of the Annals may be obtained from the Good Samaritan Offices. Phone 02 8752 5300 or email mrobinson@goodsams.org.au
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