Loreto Heritage Day
The Courage to Dream
19th July
Each year, the Loreto community comes together to celebrate a significant milestone in its history-the arrival of the Loreto Sisters in Australia on 19 July 1895. What began as Mother Gonzaga Barry and her contemporaries celebrating the anniversary of their arrival is now recognised as Loreto Heritage Day.
Loreto Heritage Day is more than a historical milestone, it is a testament to the enduring legacy of these remarkable women who risked so much for the dream they followed.
As we approach 19 July 2025, 150 years later, we honour our past, celebrate our present, and inspire our future.
Other Means Congruous to the Time
The IBVM Constitutions begin with a foundational document of 1621 called the Institutum.
This directs members to the end of the Institute, the greater glory of God and the more universal good and points them to the means to attain that end: This they hold as the care and proclamation of the faith through the work of education, the promotion of justice and the service of God’s people by ‘any means congruous to the times’.
Since 1875, Mother Gonzaga Barry and her companions lived by that foundational document, preserving the strength and conviction of this pathway to God, nurturing the graces given and the opportunities provided by noticing the signs of the times, and all the while reimagining what else there might be to do in the spirit of the foundress, Mary Ward.
From the late 70s and well into the 90s, as more women and men gained qualifications in the fields of education and school administration, it became obvious there were needs elsewhere calling for attention. One provision of our Constitution is to be prepared to go where the needs are greatest, rather than settle in one’s comfort zone. So it was discerned that sisters could hand on the work in the schools to competent colleagues and move into other ministries, though they would continue to support these colleagues so that the charism that animates our schools would be carried forward.
Maybe women with a vocation to assist in faith development could move into parish or diocesan work, into adult faith education, into prison or university chaplaincy or spiritual direction, because women can bring fresh insights to accompany both women and men in their inner journey with God.
Would it be possible for women to teach in theology schools, helping form the next generation of teachers, parish workers or priests, or what global contribution might be possible through a sister with expertise in canon law?
With each response, working as part of diocesan churches and alongside other people, both lay and religious, the sisters themselves were changed to engage with the wider church, and minds and hearts were stretched as they listened to colleagues’ new ways of hearing the Gospel.
Perhaps art and music could contribute to the ministry of the church by offering vibrant images and songs that encourage and invite people to prayer, meditation and good liturgy?
Mary Ward’s legacy that right relationships are critical to faith, led to an openness to the Church’s call to see action for justice as integral to discipleship. Connection with and advocacy for our First Nations peoples took on a special focus as some came to recognize the gifts and the grace that First Nations peoples offer as they struggle for recognition and equitable rights. Their concern for the Earth, our Mother, calls us all to rethink our practices that increase pressure on fragile resources.
Openness to the Spirit led others into support for families, especially those facing the terminal illness of a child or to work with other religious and other Christian churches to support youth in need and women fleeing domestic violence or lacking suitable housing.
With the increasing movement of people across the land and seas, attention became focussed on the trafficking of human persons and the rights of immigrants and refugees. This outreach beyond our shores attracted new members in Vietnam, from the Philippines and in Timor-Leste as they discovered that the charism of Mary Ward offered something special to their particular culture.
Such reimagining has led members in this Province of Australia and South East Asia to explore the following fields:
Advocacy for the disadvantaged – the marginalised, the refugee, the trafficked, the prisoner, the exploited.
Arts – music, visual arts, movement, liturgical leadership.
Adult Education - faith development, theology, prayer, literacy and health.
Bio-Ethics – research and lecturing.
Health ministry – nursing, aged care, special needs.
Parish ministry and pastoral care – leadership and imaginative response to need in both urban and rural settings.
Prayer and Spiritual guidance – retreat giving, spiritual direction, spiritual accompaniment, prayer groups.
Social justice – advocacy, networking, walking beside.
Social welfare services – access to social welfare services, representation and accompaniment.
Theology – teaching and tutoring tertiary students and seminarians.
Sustainable development – supporting projects in disadvantaged countries from initial concept to grant writing, implementation and review.
And to move to other regions to share Mary Ward’s charism. The outreach of the province to Vietnam, and Timor-Leste, and the development of a formation hub in the Philippines has all sprung from an openness to listen to the Spirit.