Sr Mary-Clare Holland OP has seen great change in her 50 years as a Dominican Sister, but as she looks back at those years, she says it is the people she’s met along the way who have enriched her life.

Sr Mary-Clare is the Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and the Solomon Islands and also a member of the Catholic Religious Australia Council. She is celebrating her Golden Jubilee this month.

“When I look back, I think mostly of the privilege of people allowing me to enter their life, share confidences and also, my being able to make a difference at times,” she says.

“These encounters I see as sacramental moments, especially when working in pastoral care, for which I have a passion.”

Born in Hobart, Mary-Clare left Tasmania in 1967 as a late teenager, and went to boarding school in Maitland, New South Wales, for eight months, before entering the Dominicans in 1968.

She had been educated by the Josephites during her early schooling, but from 3rd grade onwards, she attended a Dominican school and found herself attracted to Dominican life through the example of the Sisters who taught her.

“They were extraordinary women. I saw a freedom and a sense of joy among these sisters and that’s what attracted me. I sensed a humanity and a certain playfulness.”

After completing her teacher’s training in Canberra, Mary-Clare’s first teaching appointment was to a Year 2 class at Santa Maria Del Monte Primary School in Strathfield, Sydney, followed by a teaching appointment in Queensland.

From 1980 to 1981, Mary-Clare, aged only in her early 30s, was given the opportunity of completing a Master’s Degree in Religious Education at Boston College, USA.

“Living in the United States, certainly opened my eyes to so many broader issues in the areas of social justice,” she says. “It was a wonderful learning experience.”

Upon her return to Australia, Mary-Clare taught in Newcastle for a couple of years before being appointed Principal there, followed by nine years as Principal of Santa Maria Del Monte. During those years she also volunteered at Ankali, which provided emotional support for persons with HIV/AIDS.

A 12-month break followed, during which she undertook chaplaincy training and pastoral care studies as well as a Dominican renewal program, signalling a change in direction for her work and ministry.

Mary-Clare took up a temporary position as chaplain/pastoral carer in Queensland, at Mount Olivet Hospital and Caboolture Hospital and also as a volunteer on the Ethics Committee at Redcliffe Hospital, prior to a permanent appointment where she worked at the Diocesan Tribunal in the Archdiocese of Brisbane for four years. She then took up the position of Mission and Pastoral Care coordinator at the Mater Hospital in Bundaberg.

“That was a wonderful period,” she says. “I loved working in a rural setting and especially with the people. I learnt so much.”

Mary-Clare returned to Sydney in 2006 when she was elected to the Congregational Leadership Team on which she served two four-year terms, followed by a 12 month break, which included a pilgrimage to the Lands of St Paul.

After that, she took her pastoral skills and experience to a school setting, working at Santa Sabina College in Sydney as Community Pastoral Support.

“I worked with families and staff, accompanying them through sickness or loss or through periods of significant challenges with their children. This was done mostly by phone, but with some home visits too.”

During that period Mary-Clare led a College immersion trip to South Africa where one of the Dominican Sisters was working in a project for women whose lives were impacted by HIV/AIDS. The Kopanang project was the first part of a community-based response to begin training women in income-generating skills, particularly embroidery, all within a faith-based context.

In 2017 Mary-Clare was elected as Prioress of the Congregation, a position in which she and the Congregational Council have continued to lead the Dominican Sisters through a significant period of transition as its members continue to age.

“We’ve handed over our ministries and are in the process of transferring our school properties. There is an emphasis on aged care, ensuring we have appropriate care for our older Sisters as well as looking to our future lives together,” she says.

“While our Australian Sisters are ageing, we have a number of younger Sisters in the Solomon Islands, whom we continue to work with endeavouring to ensure they can look forward to a sustainable future.”

Mary-Clare says despite the increasing age of the Dominican Sisters in Australia, they continue to be vital women, fulfilling their charism of preaching the gospel wherever they are.

“They do this by the very way they live and interact with those around them. They preach by their deep commitment to prayer and the way they live their lives.

“They are my inspiration.”

Mary-Clare says her role as a CRA Councillor is another joyful aspect of her life.

“It’s Religious working together,” she says. “There was a time when we worked in our own silos, but we’re all about the same thing and we need one another. I think we’re all the richer for our collaboration.”

As she celebrates her Golden Jubilee, Mary-Clare says she is thankful for her vocation.

“I’ve been given many opportunities, entrusted with much and had a diversity of experiences which have all formed me into the person I am today and I am so thankful.

“My motto, taken at my Final Profession is, ‘Let me be glad and rejoice in Your love’. I hope that I continue to preach God’s Word in all I do, by living out my motto.”