Darwin. The Canossian Sisters celebrate 50 years of Ministry
1970-2010
Malcolm Fyfe MSC writes:
In view of the celebration, next Saturday evening at St. Paul’s Church Nightcliff, of the Canossian Sisters’ 50 years in Darwin, I asked the Sisters to send me some information about their past and present activities in the diocese. The Sisters kindly sent me the following article (below).
The Canossian Sisters’ time in the diocese has extended across that of four bishops, John O’Loughlin, Ted Collins, Eugene Hurley and Charles Gauci.
I am able to assert that the Sisters’ ministry here has always been greatly appreciated.
We thank the Sisters for their generous and continued commitment to their religious charism and apostolate.
“Jesus is not loved because He is not known”. These words of St Magdalene of Canossa, Foundress of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, have been part of the inspiration of the Sisters who have served in Darwin for the past 50 years. The desire to make Jesus known and loved motivated the first missionary Sisters to embark on a ministry to the people of Darwin, which has seen a variety of services to those in greatest need in the local area.
The first two Canossian Sisters, Teresina Franguelli and Irene Motta, arrived in Darwin on the 31st of October 1970. At the invitation of the late Bishop John O'Loughlin, they were asked to establish Bakhita Village, a complex of five family type homes for children in need of long and short term residential care.
On the arrival of the Sisters, Bakhita Village was not yet complete. In the interim, while waiting for its completion, the two sisters - who were soon joined by a third, Sr. Susanna Castelli - were given lodging in a house at the Catholic Mission Headquarters where they lived for 14 months. During those months, since the sisters were all missionaries from Italy, Bishop O'Loughlin entrusted to them the pastoral care of the Italian migrants who had made Darwin and other towns in the Northern Territory their new home. While some of the migrants had been in Darwin for quite some time, others had only recently arrived from Italy and were still struggling to adjust to the new country. The sisters were greeted with warm hearts and great joy, a God-send in the struggle towards inculturation. The needs were many, so, even after Bakhita Village was opened in January 1972 and children started to come into care, the sisters decided to continue their service to the Italian community. This service, which has evolved over the years, still continues to this day.
It was also around this time that the sisters began offering their services to the Parish of St. Paul’s Nightcliff, which included teaching catechism at Sunday school and in Government Schools in Darwin.
Cyclone Tracy in 1974 and the subsequent destruction of Bakhita Village saw an abrupt end the Sisters' service of residential care for children. The service had lasted just three years. However, the convent was repaired for the Sisters who continued to live at Bakhita Village, carrying out their ministries from those premises for another nine years. In 1983 they moved into the present convent purposely built for them on the grounds of St. Paul's Parish. The property of Bakhita Village, returned to the Diocese, was passed on to the St. Vincent de Paul Society which transformed it into a hostel for homeless men.
Throughout their time in Darwin, the Sisters have always been open to respond to emerging poverties and needs. This was again the case when shortly after the plans of Bakhita Village were halted, another great need in the local area became evident – assisting the Timorese refugees who fled to Darwin to escape the 1975 civil war. The city of Darwin readied to welcome them, as did our sisters, who provided invaluable support to the various Timorese communities. This service is another ministry that continues to this day.
In the past 50 years, 34 different Canossian Sisters have served in Darwin in a variety of ways. With hearts open to the local needs, Sisters have not only provided pastoral welfare for the Italian and Timorese migrants and refugees, but spent many years in Parish Pastoral work and catechesis, religious education in government schools, and more recently service with the St Vincent de Paul Society and primary school education.
During 2020 we celebrate fifty years of the presence and service of our Sisters here in Darwin. On this day we remember, with gratitude, not only the 34 Sisters who have lived and worked in Darwin over these years, but also the many people that God put on our path. We express gratitude to the various Bishops of the local Church who have constantly supported the Sisters in their ministry, as well as the Clergy, Religious and countless lay people who have journeyed alongside us across the years.
As we thank God for fifty years of presence in Darwin, we remain uncertain of what the future holds. However, we continue to trust that God who has led us to serve in Darwin will surely continue to accompany us as we strive to serve Him with all our hearts.
