Pilgrimages
Pilgrimage is an invitation to explore the significance and engage with the sacredness of people and places. Our pilgrimages draw their spirituality from the faith and vision of Mary Aikenhead.
We experience how Mary’s call and response were lived and passed on in Ireland, and transplanted, nurtured and adapted to a new country and culture. We journey into the heritage and history of the Sisters of Charity, walking with our pioneer women and recognising how the works of these early Sisters grew into our ministries today.
These pilgrimages to Ireland, Hobart, Sydney and Parramatta are regularly made by pilgrims. They are also virtual. For pilgrimage enquiries,
please contact Mary Aikenhead Ministries.
Ireland
The Pilgrimage commences in Dublin and a visit to Kilmainham Gaol where prison ministry began. In Harold’s Cross, pilgrims visit the Archives and the Heritage Centre to engage with the history of Mary Aikenhead and her Sisters and to see the spread of the charism to Australia, Great Britain, the United States and Africa, responding to the needs of the poor and vulnerable in each land.
In Cork, pilgrims visit the sites of Mary Aikenhead’s early life and reflect on her emerging desire to respond to the poverty that surrounded her and to be of service to the people affected.
Next comes the journey to Foxford and the amazing story of Mother Arsenius and the foundation of the Woollen Mills.
The pilgrims then return to Dublin and complete their journey at Mary’s Grave in Donnybrook.
Sydney and Parramatta
Five Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in Sydney on 31 December 1838. Sisters Mary John Cahill, John Baptist De Lacy, Xavier Williams, Lawrence Cater and Francis de Sales O’Brien were the first religious women to reach the colony. Initially they resided in Sydney, then moved to Parramatta. In 1857, “Tarmons” at Potts Point was purchased and became the site of St Vincent’s Hospital and a year later, St Vincent’s School.
The Pilgrimage commences in Sydney at the site of Darlinghurst Jail then moves onto the site of “Tarmons”. Here, pilgrims can view St Vincent’s College, visit the original chapel and resolve to come again and experience the Heritage Centre Exhibition which traces in word and image the story of the Sisters of Charity in Australia.
The pilgrims move to Circular Quay, the site of the arrival of the first five Sisters in 1838, and travel by ferry to Parramatta. From Parramatta wharf, pilgrims journey to Prince Alfred Square, the place where floggings and hangings took place. Across the road is St Patrick’s Cathedral where Sr Xavier Williams made her first profession. On the other corner is the site of the original convent. Pilgrims then journey to the Female Factory.
Hobart
The Sisters in Sydney were faced with the choice of remaining true to their charism or following the Benedictine Rule. Sisters de Sales O’Brien, John Cahill, and Xavier Williams chose their charism and responding to an invitation from the Archbishop of Hobart, arrived on Sunday, 22 June 1847.
Initially, pilgrims follow in the footsteps of the first three pioneer Sisters, from their arrival at Hobart Wharf up to St Joseph’s Church, their convent and St Joseph’s School. Then come other places of ministry including the Cascades Female Factory, the Ragged School, Hobart Town Jail, The Queen’s Asylum, and St Francis Xavier School South Hobart.
Pilgrims visit later places of ministry, then journey to New Norfolk, spending time at St Brigid’s School and the “Asylum for Insane Paupers”.
The virtual pilgrimage includes St Vincent’s Private Hospital Launceston and Outreach Devonport.
The pilgrimage finishes at the graves of the three pioneer Sisters in the Cornelian Bay Cemetery.
