Our founding orders- The Sisters of Mercy and Catherine McAuley
Charism can be described as the spirit of the community. Like the strong, driving wind in the Pentecost story, it is a powerful energy that permeates through the community members and the way in which they do their ministries. It does not just define what they do, rather it defines why and how they do it.
At St Brendan’s Primary School we recognise and pay tribute through our charism to the Sisters of Mercy who founded our school over 100 years ago; 1901. The sisters of Mercy were gracious in their gift of education for all. This gift was personified by it’s founding sister, Catherine McAuley.
As a Catholic Primary School founded by the Sisters of Mercy we are proud inheritors of the legacy, vision and practice of Catherine McAuley.
Saint Brendan’s Primary School is focused on building an environment that reflects our Mercy heritage. The Mercy Sisters were the original caretakers of our school and provided a rich education for the children of Shepparton from 1902.
The Mercy Sisters were founded by Catherine McAuley, whose qualities included compassion, humility, friendliness, prayerfulness, a strong sense of giving, courage, sympathy, peacefulness, gentleness and love. She was a strong advocate for women in her day. Above all, Catherine encouraged and lived a life of charity.
'Mercy is showing God’s loving kindness and compassion to all.'
~ It is love in action ~
The Mercy qualities of welcome, justice, inclusivity, compassion and service, especially to those in need, are the hallmarks of our Mercy charism and are expressed through our words, actions, and relationships.
Visible Signs of our Mercy Charism ~ The Mercy Cross
The original Mercy Cross was designed by Catherine McAuley herself - a dark background with a white cross in the middle.
The Mercy Cross that we see today still has a white cross in the middle of a dark coloured cross. Catherine chose the cross to be the symbol of the Sisters of Mercy because of her deep love for Jesus.
You may have noticed that the Cross does not have the figure of Jesus on the Cross. This is because Catherine believed that each Sister of Mercy places herself on the Cross to be like Jesus.
Sisters of Mercy all around the world wear this cross so we can recognise who they are.
Throughout the school, the Mercy Cross holds a place of prominence—from our administration office to each classroom prayer space. Our Mercy Learning Building proudly bears the name of our founding order, with a larger Mercy Cross displayed in each amphitheatre area. The main glass doors to the building have the Celtic Cross embossed on the glass, a beautiful reminder of our Irish heritage.
Our brass statue of Catherine McAuley surrounded by children
Our school grounds display many visible signs of our Mercy charism, reminding the students, staff and families daily of our founding orders.
Our brass statue of Catherine McAuley has a beautiful story. Catherin McAuley had a wonderful vision of love and compassion for all children, especially children who were marginalised and when she began her orders, she wanted her sisters to go out and be a witness to the teachings of Christ and to reach out to children all around the world and from all walks of life .
So how does this related to this statue? You will notice Catherine is not in her original habit, we did this intentionally so the students could see her as a regular, modern day Catherine who, if she was living today would look like this holding the hands of children that represent some of the different cultures within our school today.
This is what Catherine would have been very proud of, to know we are an inclusive Catholic Mercy school teaching students from all different backgrounds.
In 2010, the principal of St Brendan’s Primary School, Julie Cobbledick, sat with the artist and looked at pictures of students that were represented within our school community and this is what the artist worked with to create this wonderful modern day sculpture of Catherine McAuley and students from diverse backgrounds.
The children in this statue are depicted from students who were actually at the school at that time.
This beautiful piece of artwork sits proudly in our courtyard
and greets us daily, overseeing our ‘work and play’.
