Dear parents,
They called her "Little Mother", since she stood no more than 3'9", but she was a mother to the poor of inner-city Sydney in the early days of the 20th century, a heroic model of virtue who may well rank among the canonised in time, but who, we pray, already ranks among the saints in eternity.
A mother Eileen O'Connor was also to the young women who joined with her to form a new society, Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor, though most of her work was done from bed owing to a life-changing back injury Eileen sustained as a child. Eileen was born in Melbourne in 1892 and died aged 28 in Sydney in 1921. When her body was exhumed 16 years after her death, it was found to be incorrupt.
Last month, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP presented the positio to the cardinal prefect for the causes of saints in Rome. The cardinal's team will sift through the historical record and determine whether Eileen's cause will go to the next stage. Let us pray that it does and remember that Eileen can be our own Little Mother too, interceding and accompanying us.
Thank you for your support.
Warm regards,
Ian Smith
Principal
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