The first Convent of Mercy on Australia’s East coast, in Nicholson Street Fitzroy, was recently entrusted by the Leadership Team of the Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and Papua New Guinea into the care of Sr Mary Moloney RSM, Principal, and the staff of Academy of Mary Immaculate, ‘for the furtherance of the Ministry of Education’.

The date chosen for the event - April 20, 2021 - marked the 164th anniversary of the opening of the Academy - the first Catholic fee-paying secondary school for girls in Melbourne- by Mother Ursula Frayne, leader of the first community of Sisters to settle in Melbourne (1857) and the first Sister of Mercy to set foot on the shores of Australia (Perth, 1846).

*Institute Leader Sr Eveline Crotty RSM hands the original key of the convent to Sr Sylvia Williams RSM, Chair of Mercy Education during the handover ritual. PHOTO: Peter Casamento/ISMAPNG website.*

A ritual handover was held at the college and live-streamed across the Institute to mark this significant occasion, commemorating the history of the foundation, celebrating the Mercy legacy and creating possibilities for the future at the College.

The scene for the ritual was set by Sr Mary Dennett RSM, herself a past pupil, who gave an account of the arrival of the first group of Sisters in Melbourne and the early years of their mission. Sr Kath Tierney RSM then outlined the process by which the convent came to be offered to the College.

Invited to reflect on the Mercy heritage, Eileen Ann Daffy rsm – past pupil, past teacher and former principal- said “we leave behind both tangible and intangible signs of our lives and ministry as Sisters of Mercy” – the college itself, the founding sisters, Ursula Frayne and Anne Xavier Dillon buried in the chapel, and the two chalices given to the Fitzroy Community by Archbishop Goold at whose request the first Sisters of Mercy came to Melbourne.

Institute Leader Eveline Crotty RSM and Sr Mary Moloney RSM unveiled a plaque, to be permanently affixed to the convent building.

Ongoing access to the chapel for the Sisters of Mercy, and the establishment of a heritage area inside the convent with items reflecting the life and ministry of previous Sisters in Melbourne, will remain visible links with and witnesses to this first Victorian Mercy foundation.

In her Scripture reading Sr Eveline articulated the responsibility that now rests on the leadership of the College: ‘Guard the good treasure entrusted to you with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us’ (2 Timothy 1:14).

In her Address she continued that theme.

“Buildings are only available to us to enable the mission of the Gospel to continue,” she said.

“They are not our personal property, but always a means to enable something that we are being called to as Sisters of Mercy to take place. It doesn't mean that we don't feel regret or sadness, but we know - particularly in this instance- that there is a future to enable not only something new but something important to continue - the education of young women.”

Sr Mary Wickham rsm, a past teacher, had been commissioned to write a reflection for the occasion, entitled ‘There will always be Voices in this place’.

And Sr Sylvia Williams RSM, Chair of Mercy Education, which is responsible for the governance and operation of the Mercy colleges owned by ISMAPNG, received from Sr Eveline the original key to the convent and a camellia tree, an evergreen shrub symbolising strength and revitalisation.