WHOM MY HEART HAS CHOSEN

“The Sisters of Compassion should be found wherever there’s good work to be done”, wrote Mother Mary Aubert.

Established in 1892, the order of the Sisters of Compassion still serves the communities of the South Pacific. The work of the Sisters includes running Homes of Compassion for the sick, elderly and socially and physically disadvantaged.

Mother Mary Aubert came to Island Bay, Wellington from Jerusalem on the Whanganui River in 1899. The school there, and at nearby Rānana, is still run by the sisters for the predominantly Māori community.

A Home of Compassion and hospital was built in Island Bay in 1907. At St Joseph’s in Silverstream the plight of the “incurables “ is taken on, and at St Rachel’s in Carterton, intellectually handicapped children are given a home. Money is raised at the annual St Rachel’s garden party and through regular street appeals.

The Sisters established New Zealand’s first day care nursery for working mothers in 1903 and set up the Buckle Street creche. Young unmarried mothers are taken in at St Vincent’s maternity hospital in Auckland.

In Australia the order has established homes and hospitals in Broken Hill and Wagga. The sisters also work to integrate the Aboriginal people, providing Aboriginal children with schooling and tips on nutrition and hygiene. A mission also operates in Suva, Fiji.