ABOUT US  

Governance: Leadership Stories

Chapter| Leaders' Stories

Patricia Egan RSJ
Having been born of Merriwa NSW, I was educated by the Sisters of St Joseph in that small town and later at St Joseph's College Lochinvar. During the first two decades of my life as a Josephite I enjoyed teaching - mainly Religious Education, Maths and Science - in diocesan secondary schools, and reluctantly withdrew from that ministry to work full-time in congregational administration and eventually in diocesan pastoral planning and adult education in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.

It is an interesting and challenging time to be living as a religious: a transitional time between a past when the Church's mission of evangelisation relied heavily on the commitment of religious women and men, and a future which will see the ongoing decline in the numbers of religious and, hopefully, the growth and development of new forms of religious commitment adapted to the needs of a post-post-modern world.


Maureen Salmon RSJ
I was born in Condoblin western NSW. My family moved to Newcastle while I was still an infant so I really claim Newcastle as my "home" place. Throughout my school days I was taught by the Sisters of St Joseph. It was natural that when thoughts of a vocation came to me, it was the congregation of the Sisters at Lochinvar that beckoned me.

I was professed in 1960 and from then on moved around various places being first a music teacher, then a primary school teacher before looking after adolescent girls in our boarding school and being involved in various congregational ministries. In more recent times I have worked in country parishes of our Maitland-Newcastle diocese. Currently I am engaged, on a part-time basis, in assisting parents and parish teams in the preparation of children for the sacraments of initiation. I enjoy my work as it touches into the lives of the children and their parents. I see working on the leadership team as another way of serving the mission of Jesus. 

Life has been full, challenging and varied and continues to be so in these days when religious life is in a state of transition. I keep remembering the words of Julian Tenison Woods: "We are but the instruments in the hands of God and must never act as if we were more." The words of Oscar Romero give me hope: "We plant seeds that will one day grow."



Christine O’Connor RSJ
I was born in Sydney and spent my early childhood in Redcliffe, just out of Brisbane. When I was seven my family moved to Newcastle and I continued my primary school education at St Joseph's at Belmont. It was here that I first met the Sisters of St Joseph and there was something within me even then that said, "One day I would like to be a Sister of St Joseph".

I went to Lochinvar in 1967 to begin my Novitiate. I have now been professed for thirty-four years. During this time I have been involved in a variety of ministries - primary school teaching, living and working with people with AIDS, SRE in Public Schools, Spiritual Direction, Novice Director and much involvement in parish and community life in many different places.

It is my hope that we will all continue to live as women of hope in a world where there is so little hope and that our hearts will be filled with compassion and forgiveness. As a member of the Leadership team I hope to be available and of service to the whole congregation as we journey together through the next five years of our story.


Carmel Moore RSJ
Born in Sydney to Nell and Jack, I was brought up in Newcastle. I joined the sisters in 1952 at age seventeen and enjoyed the opportunities for prayer and spiritual growth. After two and a half years in formation, I taught in High Schools for thirty years, spending eleven of these as a School Principal. I appreciated young people (and their families) and the ministry of facilitating their growth intellectually, physically and spiritually.

After a few years in parish work, I trained as a Hospital Chaplain and spent eight years employed by Hunter Health, providing Pastoral Care in trauma situations. It was a huge leap from education to health care! Enriching as I found this time, I was longing to live a life centered on quietness. Three of us agreed to do this and we lived together and almost incidentally opened a Meditation Centre, “Living Waters”. This ministry has flourished in ways not planned by me in a world seeking spiritual meaning. I love the work of teaching and care that I can provide and feel that all the parts of my life have prepared me for this. 

I am now joining this ministry with work on the Leadership Team (the third time I have been elected to this work of service.) I am grateful to God for the richness of my life!