Go If Sent
In the North Transept beneath the window dedicated to the Pioneer Religious, this Founders’ Chapel provides the space to reflect on the faith and courage of the group of Sisters of Mercy who journeyed by sea to begin their mission here in Parramatta in 1888.
This chapel is the last resting place of Mother Mary Clare Dunphy who led the band of nine from Callan, Ireland.
The bronze before you, Journey by Anthony Russo, shows the Cuzco, the ship which brought the founding Sisters to Australia. Their names and ages are engraved.
Image: Journey by Anthony Russo
The process of selecting the pioneer Sisters for the Parramatta mission is described by Sr Madeleine Sophie McGrath as follows:
Each sister was requested to fill in the appropriate column: ‘Won’t go’; ‘Volunteer’; and ‘Will go if sent’. This took place on 20 June, 1888 and three days later the Reverend Mother of Callan was authorised to select volunteers for the Parramatta foundation. Sister M. Clare Dunphy, who had entered her name in the column ‘Will go if sent’, was asked by the Callan superiors to undertake the office of superior of the Parramatta community. Her acceptance was formally received on 25 June and the next day she came to Callan from Kilkenny convent, on the invitation of the Callan superiors, to select her companions from the list of volunteers.
What mixture of emotions would have filled the hearts of these sisters when they sailed to a new and unknown destination, far from their native Ireland?
The full extent of the generosity of the Callan Sisters was understood only later, when it was revealed that the Callan Congregation was so depleted by the number of sisters it had released to go to Parramatta, that it was obliged to send letters to other Mercy Congregations in Ireland, asking if they could release some sisters to join the Callan Congregation to enable it to continue its work in Callan.
Mother Mary Clare Dunphy
39 years
Sr Mary Brigid Darby
33 years
Sr Mary Alacoque Kavanagh 30 years
Sr Mary Agnes Kavanagh 26 years
Sr Mary Joseph O’Callaghan
24 years
Sr Mary Columba Woodlock
26 years
Sr Mary Alphonsus Shelly
30 years
Sr Mary de Sales Shelly
28 years
Sr Mary Teresa Wall
32 years
The Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Prominently displayed in the Founders’ Chapel, the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help holds deep significance for the Sisters of Mercy.
Brought aboard as a gift while the Cuzco was berthed in Naples, this beautifully enshrined icon symbolises the devotion and faith that guided the Pioneer Sisters in their courageous journey to Australia. (The sisters were not permitted to leave the ship)
Image: Our Lady of Perpetual Help
The Cuzco Diary
Bridget (Sr Mary Alphonsus Shelly) faithfully documented the daily experiences of the sisters’ life on board the Cuzco from 14 October to 29 November, 1888. It is handwritten in an exercise book and describes the realities of a long, sometimes very gruelling journey, yet still contains snippets which capture some of the lighter side of their experiences:
Image: Painting of the S.S. Cuzco ship sailing in rough waters.
1888
12th October—20th October
Boarded the Tender to the “Cuzco” for Australia; Saw the first flight of ‘Mother Cary’s Chickens off the Portuguese coast. There are storm petrels, giant sea birds that foretold rough seas ahead. His Eminence brought us an atlas…
Australian Cricket Team on board returning triumphant after beating the English. They had a game on the quarter deck, their ball kept in by a network.
21st October—22nd October
Departed Naples after 12 noon. All on deck to admire scene. At lunch the boat was stopped and the Pilot boat sent off. An old lady rushed to the Captain as he sat enjoying his lunch and she asked what happened. The Captain replied: “The cook dropped his ladle into the sea, Madam, and it was necessary to recover it.”
29th October—7th November
Sailed the Red Sea. Heat oppressive. Rough seas. Only five sisters able to receive Holy Communion due to sea sickness
All Souls Day. Nearly all seasick. Five Masses per day; Confession for all.
Sr Mary Teresa dashed quite across the corridor at far side of the deck by one great launch of the boat and she was picked up by a Sydney cricketer
19th November—29th November
Mr de Waters brought opossum rug to shelter us on deck while we were at Albany.
Saw Kangaroo Island—no water there, uninhabited. To Port Adelaide at about 5pm. The Archbishop and several Bishops and priests on boarded to welcome His Eminence. Dominican Sisters sent lay friends to us with fruits and flowers.
Left Adelaide. Bushfires visible on the shore.
Three Masses on Sunday because all the passengers went ashore and we enjoyed the quiet.
Set sail for Sydney in the morning.
29th November
Sailed to Sydney having seen Botany Bay, Coogee Bay, Randwick…
Explore more with these resource suggestions
These Women - Women Religious in the History of Australia: The Sisters of Mercy Parramatta 1888-1988
by MS McGrath
Sisters of Mercy Callan, Diocese of Ossory. Weaving a Thread through the First Fifty Years 1872-1922
by A Saunders