Eileen’s road to Canonisation
22 March 2018
The journey to sainthood begins!
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP, begins the formal process for the beatification of Eileen O’Connor. He appoints Rome-based priest, Father Anthony Robbie, as postulator, the person who will guide the cause for beatification or canonisation through the Church’s rigorous processes for recognising a person as a saint.
“I am very pleased to announce this next step in the cause of Eileen O’Connor,” Archbishop Fisher says. “Eileen was a young woman who received the love of God, multiplied it in her heart, and passed it on to others. It is my hope that the heroic and saintly example of Eileen O’Connor will inspire everyone to live faithful lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor former congregational leader and Eileen O’Connor Centenary Project Leader, Sr Margaret Mary Birgan oln, says the announcement is a joyful day for the 65-year-old congregation.
“We welcome this joyful news with great gratitude to God – and we joyfully thank all the sisters, volunteers, benefactors and everyone who as walked with us in our long journey,” she says.
20 February 2020
Sainthood cause opens for Eileen O’Connor
The joy was palpable when 1000 people filled St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney for the official opening of the cause for beatification and canonisation of Australia’s next possible saint, Eileen O’Connor on 20 February.
Beatification is the first of two major steps to being officially declared a saint by the Church; Eileen has already been accorded the title ‘Servant of God.’
Born in Melbourne in 1892, Eileen Rosaline O’Connor suffered a broken spine at the age three and lived in in constant nerve pain from what was later diagnosed as tuberculous osteomyelitis.
She co-founded Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor with local priest Father Edward McGrath msc in 1913 to care for the sick and dying poor in their homes.
Lovingly known as ‘Little Mother’, she measured only 115cm tall when she died aged 28 in 1921.
In his homily, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP said God makes far more saints than are recognised, but that “the Church is graced to recognise a few”.
“For a century now the Church in Australia has kept alive the memory of the ‘Little Mother’,” he said adding that it has seen “many answers to prayers through the intercession of Eileen”.
“So far Australia has only one recognised saint so can we produce more saints?” he asked. “Has our dry continent suffered a holiness drought also?”
“We pray that Eileen O’Connor might be raised to the order of Australia’s second saint.”
The next steps in the process which would raise her to the altars, official confirmation of her reputation for holiness and indications from God [in the form of two miraculous healings], will require from Catholics ‘the patience of a saint’, he said.
“But we hope that day will come in our lifetime.”
16 August 2024
Eileen’s Cause heads to Rome
The diocesan phase of the Cause for the Canonisation of Servant of God, Eileen O’Connor, is officially completed.
Most Rev. Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP signs the final decree for the acts of the cause at Cathedral House, alongside members of the Eileen O’Connor tribunal and the historical commission.
Archbishop Fisher and Diocesan Postulator, Rev. Fr. Anthony Robbie will formally present the decree, along with documents compiled by the tribunal and commission over the past four years evidencing Eileen’s case for sainthood, to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome in October. Also in attendance were Rev. Monsignor Robert Sarno, a retired U.S. priest who worked in the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints in Rome for many years; Episcopal Delegate to the tribunal, Rev. Fr. Julian Wellspring; President of the Historical Commission, Dr. Jocelyn Hedley; and members and staff of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor.
Eileen O’Connor was born in 1892 and died 1921, aged only 28. She suffered from tuberculosis of the spine, spinal curvature, stunted growth, periods of blindness, long periods of paralysis and extreme nerve pain, amidst other ailments.
Eileen offered her suffering up to God and dedicated her life to his mission, founding the Our Lady’s Nurses of the Poor – widely known as the ‘Brown Nurses’ – alongside Rev. Fr. Edward McGrath msc.(Photo: Alphonsus Fok).
17 October 2024
Eileen O’Connor reaches Rome
Cardinal Gilroy in particular was so devoted that he used to regularly visit the Sisters at Coogee and serve the poor himself at their soup kitchen. Even so, with Mary Mackillop such a long way off from being canonised, it was understandable that more attention was given to that massively important Cause.
It was Archbishop Fisher who finally proposed that we get underway about five years ago, in time for the centenary of Eileen’s death in 2021. Bishops Randazzo and Brady had a big part in promoting the works to begin the formal cause and the first step, the identification of a postulator was decided early on. As a priest resident in Rome, I was asked to undergo the training for that role at the special school attached to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and I then returned to Australia to assist the process of forming the Cause and guiding the works of the teams of canonists, historians and theologians who would prepare the case over the next four years.
The results are an impressive and very substantial documentation of every aspect of the life of Eileen, tracking through all her ups and downs, her challenges and her victories. They give us a remarkable insight to the deep spirituality of this saintly woman who touched the lives of so many, largely from her own sick bed over a short but powerful life.
Archbishop Fisher, already in Rome for the synod on synodality took the opportunity to officially pass over the results of his and his collaborators’ work to the Dicatsery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican this week. Cardinal Semeraro, the Prefect of the Dicastery, the man charged by the Holy Father to guide and assess all these Causes throughout the world, was very generous in coming to meet Archbishop Fisher in person and take custody of the papers, a rare honour. The cardinal spoke to the assembled Australians present on the value of another saint for Australia and of the good example she could set, as well as encouraging everyone to ask God for a miracle to help things along!
Present for the occasion were the seminarians of the Archdiocese of Sydney studying in Rome, several of the priests of Sydney who are resident in the Domus Australia and engaged in studies, Fr Joseph Hamilton the rector of the Domus and Fr Martin Roestenburg OP, who will carry on the work representing the Cause at the Roman end from now on.
The next step involves the Roman authorities making an assessment of the merits of the documentation that has been presented to them. It will be sifted and formed into a “Positio” or position paper of several hundred pages, which will analyse the issues in Eileen’s life and hope to identify signs of heroic virtue in her story. If all goes well, and she passes the test, she will be declared “Venerable” and from that point on all we will need is a miracle to have her declared Blessed.
This next step typically takes a few years, but we are very well prepared indeed for everything required. Meanwhile, we need to ask God to provide a miracle if it is his will. There are very many miracles already attributed to Eileen, but we need miracles within very restricted categories to prove beyond any possible doubt that God is favouring this particular Cause. Nevertheless, Eileen’s many friends are confident that all will come in time and that before long Australia will have a second saint by the sea.
Article source: https://catholicweekly.com.au/cause-for-canonisation-eileen-oconnor/
