News

This week Tenison Woods College is celebrating the Founders of our College. Each day is dedicated to a different House Founder with lunchtime activities planned by the Founder Leaders. In today’s newsletter we will take the opportunity to briefly tell the story of St Marcellin Champagnat, St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, Venerable Catherine McAuley and Fr Julian Tenison Woods.

St Marcellin Champagnat was a priest who started an order of Brothers called the Marist Brothers in France in 1817. He was passionate about educating and taught the Marist Brothers to show great respect and love for the children they taught and to give all people equal opportunities. Three things fuelled Marcellin’s passion for life and shaped his spirituality:

• An awareness of God’s presence;
• A confidence in Mary and her protection;
• The virtues of simplicity and humility.

In 1872 four Brothers arrived from Europe to form the first Australian community of Marist Brothers and in 1931 a Marist Brothers school – Tenison College, was established in Mount Gambier.

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was born in Melbourne in 1842. She was a woman of kindness, compassion and love for those less fortunate. In 1860 she moved to Penola as a governess to her Aunt and Uncle’s children and in 1866, together with Father Julian Tenison Woods, she began the Sisters of St Joseph. The aim of the Sisters was to educate children and to help some of the poorest and most desperate people to access an education. This school, in a stable in Penola, was the very first Catholic school in South Australia. Mary MacKillop is Australia’s only Saint and is a local inspiration to us all.

Venerable Catherine McAuley was born in Ireland in 1788. After her parents died when she was young, Catherine lived with several families and was a wonderful example of living and praying the Catholic faith. When Catherine was left a significant sum of money as an inheritance, she chose to spend it setting up a house for poor girls and women. When she realised that she, and they, needed even more help she began the Sisters of Mercy to work as teachers, nurses, and carers of all kinds.

The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Mount Gambier and Millicent from Buenos Aries in 1880, with a strong presence in Catholic Education in the South East until the 1980’s.

Fr Julian Tenison Woods was born in England in 1832 and began to study to become a priest in 1852. In 1855 he moved to Tasmania, Australia where he worked as a chaplain and teacher for the convicts and completed his ordination into the priesthood. In 1857 he took up a position as Parish Priest in Penola and met Mary MacKillop. The two of them began the Stable School and the Sisters of St Joseph in 1866. He planned and started many schools in Adelaide, and in country towns, that provided education for poor children. He was a priest, newspaper editor, author, geologist, artist, musician and was the first Director General of Catholic Education in Australia. He loved to travel around Australia and the world observing and recording the natural world.

Michelle Coote | Assistant Principal Religious Identity and Mission