Salesian Sister Louise McKeogh is moving on from her role as Social Justice Coordinator for the Diocese of Parramatta, to become a regional Provincial for her religious order, Catholic Outlook reports.
Sr Louise has been appointed Provincial of the South Pacific Region – which includes Australia, Samoa and the Solomon Islands – of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), more commonly known as the Salesian Sisters.
Sr Louise McKeogh FMA. PHOTO: Mary Brazell, Diocese of Parramatta/Catholic Outlook.
“I have a mixture of feelings [about my appointment],” Sr Louise told Catholic Outlook. “[There’s] excitement at a new challenge and I think it’s a sacred space to journey with each of the sisters and facilitate together the ministry that happens in Australia, in Samoa and in the Solomon Islands. To walk together and collaboratively set the direction and goals for our ministry for the next six years with the leadership team, so that’s very exciting.
“There’s also a tinge of sadness, because I’ve loved what I’ve been doing here in the Parramatta Diocese in the Social Justice Office, all the networks, relationships and support that make it a shared mission. It’s been a very life-giving and rewarding ministry for me personally.
“I’ve been a member of the [Salesian Sisters] leadership team for the last three years, but the appointment was a surprise.”
Sr Louise grew up in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and attended high school at Mater Christi College in Belgrave, which was run by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
As a teenager, she was involved in her parish youth group, became a member of the Antioch Youth Movement and helped the Salesian Sisters run summer and winter camps for young people.
“What drew me to the Salesians was that I wanted to journey with young people. I felt inspired to work in some way with young people, whether being in youth ministry or education,” she said.
“I was very inspired by the formation house of the Salesian Sisters in my parish [of St Jude’s Scoresby]. So, there was young people entering religious life, and I was challenged and inspired by those young women, and there was a connection to the story of Don Bosco and his work for young people.
“In the end, it’s ultimately a call that this is the right thing for you.”
After high school, Sr Louise studied at teachers’ college, and in her third year, realised she had a call to religious life. She professed her final vows in Melbourne in January 1996.
In 1990, Sr Louise moved to Sydney to teach at St John Bosco Primary School in Engadine before working in youth ministry at the Don Bosco Youth Centre in St Marys.
She returned to Melbourne to become the director of a long-day child care centre and then spent time in Adelaide completing a graduate diploma in Indigenous studies and assisting with a program for Indigenous secondary school students.
In January 2012, Sr Louise returned to Sydney to the Salesian Sisters Community at St Marys and took up the role as the Diocesan Social Justice Coordinator.
During her time in the Social Justice Office, Sr Louise has also been the Caritas Australia Diocesan Director, has helped to launch the annual Project Compassion fundraising initiative, as well as being an advocate for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s annual Social Justice Statements.
She is active in supporting and resourcing groups and parishes in the diocese to achieve social justice goals, particularly with regard to the concerns of asylum seekers and refugees, as well as networking with schools, parishes and agencies across Western Sydney with a passion for social justice.
“One exciting time was World Youth Day 2013 when we went to Rio, and we’d had the mission experience with Caritas Peru in Lima. Seeing the young people of our diocese being able to experience the work of Caritas face-to-face,” she said.
“What’s been inspiring for me [has been] the teachers in the schools that are giving their extra time to animate social justice, or the people in parishes that are leading social justice groups or involved in those groups, and the different networks and agencies, like House of Welcome and Jesuit Refugee Service, all the different groups in the diocese that work for justice.”
Sr Louise sees a great future for continued growth in Social Justice initiatives in the diocese into the future.
“The Church in Western Sydney has always been very committed to social justice because people have a sense of being authentic about their faith and making it real,” she said.
“I see a lot of challenges coming out of all the discernment around the Plenary Council, and with Bishop Vincent’s leadership, the Social Justice Office will continue to grow and have a great focus in the Parramatta Diocese.”
This is an abridged form of an article by Mary Brazell, first published in Catholic Outlook. See the full story here.