Dimensions
203 x 130 x 25mm
It's the nuns I remember. An oddity to outsiders, mainstream to any Catholic. Hardly a class-room was without one. They were young and in charge, and role models for the girls who looked up at them from the desks.
They weren't part of the clergy; they couldn't take Holy Orders like priests ... but they were leaders, career women, women in the church who had a role, an alternative authority, belonging to a community of convent life which, like their heavy clothing, separated them from everyday society.
Everyone knows the story of Mary MacKillop, but what happened to Mary MacKillop's sisters - the Sisters of St Joseph? Since the establishment of their order in 1867, the Josephites have taught and set up schools all over Australia and New Zealand, bringing education to those who couldn't afford it. In this fascinating collection of interviews, Anne Henderson reveals the inner life of the religious. Through their own words, the sisters reflect on thier work, their vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience and what these mean in the modern world. Always interesting and sometimes surprising MARY MACKILLOP'S SISTERS is an invaluable social and historical document and a wonderful read.
