Sister Honoured by Pope Francis

July 31, 2024

 

A few weeks ago, Sister Anne Hannigan was catching up with Port Macquarie Parish Priest, Fr Paul Gooley, when he casually mentioned he had a letter from their Bishop he wanted to read to her. It turns out it was no ordinary communication, rather it was a letter saying that Pope Francis had awarded her a papal honour, the ‘Pro Ecclesiae et Pontifice’ – (For Church and Pope) – in recognition of her 60 years of service to the church and the wider community.

“At first, I didn’t know what to think,” said Anne. “I was very surprised and honoured. I just felt so humbly appreciated especially by the parish and diocese.”

This year is a significant one for Anne as she celebrates 60 years as a Sister of Mercy and also a special birthday. Late last year, Fr Paul approached her saying that he wanted to mark these milestones. However, she never imagined this would include being presented with something from Pope Francis.

“At first I wouldn’t let him publish or write anything about my jubilee or birthday. Then in January I had a weak moment and I said alright, you can tell the staff and he said ‘if I can tell the staff, I can now do what I want with it’. It has gone from no one knowing to almost everyone in Port Macquarie knowing, so much for me trying to keep it quiet,” said Anne in a grateful yet slightly embarrassed tone.

Anne’s journey to receiving the papal honour began when she entered the Sisters of Mercy in Grafton in 1961. Anne grew up in Woodview outside of Casino on a dairy farm. She started to discern her vocation when she was a boarder at St Mary’s College.

“I used to talk to one of the nuns about it. At the time I was thinking of joining a missionary order. She said to me that I have as much chance of going to the missions in the mercies as the missionary orders. So I decided I would join the mercies and give them a try.”

Anne said her vocation wasn’t something that she really wanted to do; it was something that she knew within her was right for her to do.

“While at school, I used to watch the nuns morning and night. I loved going into the Church in Grafton just on dark and sit there. I think this is where I felt the call coming to me. I thought I won’t be happy unless I try it out. If they kick me out that is good. If they keep me that is good too. I entered with the mindset that I will probably only be there for a short time.”

While in the novitiate, Anne commenced teacher training and in 1964 started primary teaching. It was then decided that all the young sisters from her Congregation would go to North Sydney for teacher training with the Josephite Sisters. After a year at the teacher’s college, Anne was appointed as the Principal of a school in Smithtown, completing her second and final year of teacher training by correspondence.

“The superiors could see something in me that I didn’t know was in myself. My first few years of teaching were difficult because we had large classes and we often had two classes at a time. We had to learn discipline very quickly. I don’t know whether it is a gift or a curse, but my eyes tell a lot! I could discipline with my eyes.”

 

 

As if the challenge of being a teacher and principal weren’t enough, a few years later Anne was asked to be a house mother at St Joseph’s Cowper Children’s Homes in Grafton. Here she was solely responsible for ten children aged 4-18 years, as well as having a full-time teaching load during the day.

“It was hard, but it was what you did in those days and the young people taught me so much. They taught me not to worry about the small stuff and that I didn’t have to have everything done today. When I first went there, I thought I had to get all the tasks, such as ironing, done at night. They would say, ‘Come and sit down and talk to us and play games,’ and after a while I would do that. By the end of the year, I realised the ironing would get done when it needed to be done and it was just as important for me to sit down with them, play games and help them with their homework.”

Anne’s experience of being a house mother also had an impact on her future teaching career as it enabled her to be more empathetic and understanding of what parents went through.

“I no longer expected that all the parents would have everything in line. I understood they may not have been able to do something on a particular night. Things happen in homes that when you are in the convent you don’t experience. It taught me to be more human and that it is okay to make mistakes.”

 

 

Following four years as a house mother, Anne was finally given the opportunity to fulfil her long held dream of undertaking a missionary experience.

“Our Mother Superior sent out a letter asking for volunteers to go and teach in Papua New Guinea. I had it within my bones that if I responded I was going to be chosen and I was. I joined with Sisters from Brisbane in Yarapos and I taught high school there for two years. This experience was fantastic for me because their sense of humour was magnificent and I loved their simplicity.”

After coming back from Papua New Guinea, Anne spent a year at the National Pastoral Institute in Melbourne and then became the founding principal of a new primary school in Sawtell near Coffs Harbour, NSW where she stayed for eight years.

“During this time, I realised that a lot of the issues that parents were seeing me about such as finances or their children’s behaviour often had a connection with the parent’s relationship not being altogether. There weren’t many counsellors around at that time like there is now. In responding to this need, I decided to leave teaching and go back to university and I studied a Master of Arts in Counselling at Loyola University in Chicago.”

 

 

On returning to Australia, she wrote to the Bishop of Lismore asking if he would notify parishes seeing if any were interested in utilising her counselling services. Father Leo Donnelly from Port Macquarie responded and Anne spent the next eight years offering marriage and grief counselling there before moving to Coffs Harbour to undertake parish work as well as counselling. After 12 years in Coffs Harbour she received another ‘job offer’ from Fr Donnelly.

“After 12 years I knew it was time to do something new and low and behold I got a call from Fr Donnelly in Port Macquarie saying they were looking for a pastoral care person in the parish run aged care facility, ‘St Agnes Care and Lifestyle’. I told him I would do the role for a couple of years and that was 14 years ago and I am still in the job!”

Over time, Anne’s team has grown to seven members including herself. A key part of their role is working one-on-one with the more than 300 residents and prospective residents.

“A lot of our work is with people and their families who are in a time of transition, whether it be transitioning into care or transitioning into death. We deal a lot with grief and the emotions that surround that.

“The team also organises regular mass and church services, memorial services and a series of intergenerational memoirs with the school students who meet with and write the life stories of residents. I am still very enthusiastic about my ministry here. Just as when I was working in schools, I see my responsibility is to mentor others to take over what is being done. I find the mentoring and working with others really inspiring. I also enjoy the camaraderie with the workers, nurses, carers and management. It gives me a lot of life.”

 

 

Anne said that growing up on a dairy farm instilled in her a strong work ethic, however it has meant she has had to make sure it isn’t the only thing for which she is known.

“More importantly I try to focus on who I am and what I can give to others through my gifts and by being myself rather than what I do. Sometimes people are surprised that I am a sister. When I first started working here in aged care we had a group of managers that used to meet for morning tea and we had lots of fun. I was just myself and one of them said to me that I had completely blown his idea of a Religious altogether. I responded by saying I don’t know what you thought religious life was about that, but I think it is a good thing!”

When I was in PNG, an elderly sister said to me ‘you’re a conundrum’. I never got her to explain exactly what it was she meant by that. I looked the word up and I thought yes, I probably am a conundrum to others and myself as well,” said Anne.

Lismore Bishop, Greg Lake, will present Anne with her Papal Honour in September.

 

Messages to: anne.hannigan@mercy.org.au

 

Written by John Rochester, Institute Communications.

 

Click here to return to Just Mercy