Australia - Delegation

Brief history of the Delegation

Currently in the Delegation of Australia we have 27 Sisters who serve in five communities. We serve in two different geographical States of Australia, these being Queensland and the Northern Territory (including the Tiwi Islands). We have one institution, Canossa Kindergarten that we own and operate. As well as having led Canossian institutions in the fields of health, aged care and early childhood for many years, sisters are serving those in greatest need in numerous ways. Sisters are found assisting different ethnic and migrant groups, coordinating catechesis and sacramental formation, teaching in primary or secondary schools, visiting refugees and asylum seekers, hospital and school chaplaincy, providing psychology services or spiritual direction. Sisters are serving at the grassroots in social work, journeying with our indigenous brothers and sisters, as well as in pastoral care in hospitals, aged care facilities and schools. The very nature of the Delegation of Australia is extremely multicultural, with Sisters who come from 9 different countries of origin. We give witness to the reality that it is possible for people of different cultures and ages to live together in a spirit of unity and collaboration.

Whilst a number of our Sisters are aging, we have three temporary professed sisters and 1 postulant. Sisters are engaged in vocation promotion and youth ministry, with an emphasis across the Delegation on being present to young people where they are and availing ourselves to accompany them in their searching.

Whilst 2024 marked 250 years since the birth of St Magdalene, this year takes on a special significance for the Sisters of the Delegation of Australia as we celebrate 75 years of Canossian presence.

Since 1949, the Canossian Daughters of Charity Servants of the Poor have walked the land of Australia seeking to make Jesus known and loved. On Saturday 13th July, 2024, thanking God for 75 years of Canossian Daughters of Charity’s presence in Australia, the sisters of the Delegation gathered at Canossa Chapel, Oxley, along with staff, families and friends for a jubilee Eucharistic celebration. This anniversary was a beautiful opportunity to give thanks to God for His blessings, as well as to remember all the Sisters who have gone before us.

In Australia we have a wonderful history of selfless and generous women who have paved the way for all that we treasure in our Canossian reality of today. We have a great history yet to be accomplished. At this moment in our Canossian story in Australia, we are invited to look to where the Spirit of this great southland sends us, in order to write new pages that speak for themselves of our relationship with God, transforming into life what we affirm and believe.

Undeniably the past 75 years have seen significant changes in the narrative of the Canossian presence in Australia. This has not been easy. Yet, we are called to hope in the vision of God for the future of our Delegation. In order to do this, we are called as consecrated women to communion, to discipleship, to be the living witnesses of the presence of God in our world.

Sito web: www.canossiansisters.org.au