Mother Vincent Whitty

Memorial card for Mother Mary Vincent Whitty

Mother Mary Vincent Whitty, R.S.M., (1 March 1819 – 9 March 1892) was an Irish Religious Sister known for her work in the Australian state of Queensland. She was a leading figure in the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy, both in Ireland and in its expansion into the then-British colony of Australia.

Early life

She was born Ellen Whitty at Pouldarrig, near Oylegate, a village seven miles from the town of Wexford in Ireland. She was the fourth of the six children of William and Johanna Whitty.^[1]

Of her two sisters one also became a Sister of Mercy, known as Sister Mary Agnes; the other married the brother of a famous convert and publicist, Frederick Lucas. Father Robert Whitty, S.J., leader of the Jesuits in Great Britain, was her brother.

Religious life in Ireland

Whitty joined Catherine McAuley (the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy) at the convent in Baggot Street, Dublin, in 1839. Serving as Whitty's spiritual guide through her novitiate, Catherine McAuley was extremely close to her and requested Mother Vincent to sit by her side in her dying hours. She was made Mistress of novices in 1844, and in 1849 Superior General of the religious congregation, third in succession to Mother McAuley. While she was served in that office, the Crimean War was being waged and she offered the services of the congregation to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers. Her own sister, Mary Agnes, was one of those who went to the seat of war.

Involved in the planning of the Mater Hospital in Dublin, Mother Vincent was especially skilled in organisation and as such was considered invaluable to the Sisters of Mercy community in Ireland. Additionally, she founded five new convents and established three institutions in Dublin for the care of underprivileged women and children.^[1]

Religious life in Queensland

It was this that held Mother Vincent in Ireland until Bishop James Quinn (a Dubliner who had recently been named as the first Bishop of Brisbane for Queensland, Australia), encouraged her to come to his pioneer diocese. The new diocese, as large as France, Spain and Italy together, had then only two priests and four churches. She was appointed as the Superior of the group.

Whitty arrived in Brisbane with five other Sisters on 10 May 1861 and that following November founded All Hallows' School, a Catholic girls school. Although the bishop removed her as Superior in 1863,^[1] the community of Sisters she founded soon spread throughout the new colony, with more than 20 convents founded before her death

Bishop Quinn's decision to include Mother Vincent in his pastoral plan proved to be inspirational, and under her leadership the Sisters of Mercy were able to make a positive contribution to the growth of the Catholic community throughout the State of Queensland.

Later life

When Ellen died at All Hallows' Convent in 1892 she left behind "a group of 222 Sisters in 26 schools of 7000 students and welfare institutions protecting some 200 children" (Mercy Women, 2001, p. ix). Her funeral service was held in Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane and she was buried in the Nudgee Catholic Cemetery.^[2]

Legacy

In addition to the various educational institutions founded under her leadership, the Sisters of Mercy of Brisbane form an independent congregation within the tradition of Catherine MacAuley.

References

•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ellen Whitty". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 
• Mercy Women Making History: From the Pen of Mother Vincent Whitty, Brisbane: Sisters of Mercy (2001).
• Mary Xaverius O'Donoghue, Mother Vincent Whitty: Woman and educator in a masculine society, Melbourne University Press, Carlton Vic, 1972.