The Missionary Sisters of Service (MSS) celebrated the 80th anniversary of their foundation this week, with many of the Melbourne-based sisters joining the community of St Thomas the Apostle Parish in Blackburn on Sunday 7 July, along with family and friends, members of the MSS Stewardship Council, staff and board members of their mission entity, Highways and Byways: Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves, Together, and staff from Emerging Futures Collaborative Limited.
In honour of the MSS’s special anniversary, congregational leader Stancea Vichie MSS, was invited by parish priest Fr Aloysius Lamere MSC to say some words. She explained that although the MSS’s official foundation date is 8 July 1944, when the first four women came together to form a new community, their origins really date back to 1933.
‘In that year, a young man of 23 years, originally from near Yea in country Victoria, was ordained a diocesan priest for the Hobart Archdiocese—Fr John Wallis,’ said Sr Stancea. ‘Not long after his ordination, he was sent on mission to the remote Bruny Island, off the south-east coast of Tasmania, to visit families, many of whom had not seen a priest for quite a while.
‘While [he was] visiting the Hawkins family, mother of four young children Kit Hawkins asked Fr John, “Father, why can’t we have sisters to come here? Doesn’t anyone care about us people in the bush?” This question set off a chain reaction of events in the life of Fr John, who set about inviting a group of women to form a community 11 years later to do just that.’
At all times, the mission has remained to be with the people in their ordinary, everyday circumstances, no matter who they are and where they come from.
At its peak, the MSS had almost 60 women in the community. They were charged with setting out into the highways and byways of Australia and beyond, visiting people who were often on the margins and forgotten. Over their eight decades, they have worked in every state of Australia but Western Australia, and their mission has evolved and diversified, with many of the sisters moving to more urban areas. A special photo slideshow presented during the Mass on Sunday showed a map of Australia highlighting where the sisters have lived and worked ‘over this vast land’.
Today, there are 20 sisters living in Australia: eleven in Melbourne; one in Mackay, Queensland; five in Toowoomba, Queensland; one in Port Pirie, South Australia; and two in Hobart, Tasmania. ‘At all times, the mission has remained to be with the people in their ordinary, everyday circumstances, no matter who they are and where they come from,’ said Sr Stancea.
Fourteen years ago, recognising the changing nature and circumstances of their community of women, the MSS established their mission entity, the John Wallis Foundation, which then became known as Highways and Byways: Healing the Land, Healing Ourselves, Together. Sr Stancea said, ‘We are so excited by the work of our Highways and Byways team, as they carry on our vision and mission of reaching out to those on the margins through their small grants and program partnerships.’
Recognising that the MSS anniversary celebrations in Melbourne took place on the same day as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, the theme of which is ‘Keep the Fire Burning—Strong in Faith’, Sr Stancea paid special tribute to the First Nations people of Australia, who have played an integral role in the evolving spirituality of the sisters.
‘It’s a real privilege for us to be beginning our anniversary celebrations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday and to recall the fact that we as a group of women have been so gifted to have lived and worked on so many of the Countries of First Nations people across this ancient land, now known as Australia.
I think God’s been able to work wonderfully through us, in spite of our weaknesses ... somehow, things have happened that we could never have imagined over those 80 years.
‘It is an enormous privilege to be among the world’s oldest continuous culture, from which we have been learning throughout the years, and continue to learn so much. We have been both formed and transformed by the land and the people we’ve encountered along the way.’
She said, ‘I think God’s been able to work wonderfully through us, in spite of our weaknesses, and we do have flaws and weaknesses like every other human being. But somehow, things have happened that we could never have imagined over those 80 years.
‘Though we say this often, it does bear repeating: we have so much to be thankful for, with much of that gratitude extending to those of you here with us today, to so many of you across this ancient land. We’ve all been on this journey together. As our founder Fr John Wallis used to always say, “Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.” So, that’s the spirit in which we are here today: Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.’
The MSS look forward to more anniversary celebrations in coming weeks in the various locations where the sisters live. For more information, see the Missionary Sisters of Service website.
All photos by Fiona Basile, courtesy of MSS.