On the weekend of 22-23 March, St Joseph’s Perthville finally closed its doors after 153 years. It was a bittersweet occasion for the Sisters and others, many of whom had been associated with Perthville from their early days as boarders.
On Saturday, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart gathered to remember, to give thanks and to farewell the Perthville complex with their own community.
On Sunday, about 450 people including Sisters of St Joseph Lochinvar, Sisters of Mercy, Missionaries of Charity, Josephite Companions, family members, friends, ex-boarders, volunteers, local Perthville village friends, priests and others gathered to bid farewell.
In the morning ritual, the Sisters remembered the significance of the Perthville site: it is the first permanent dwelling of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in New South Wales. Both St Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods spent time at Perthville although they were never there together. It also holds the grave of Sr Teresa MacDonald – the Sister who stood by Mary MacKillop at her excommunication and the first Sister buried at Perthville.
Sr Monica Cavanagh, Congregational Leader of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, spoke with deep understanding of the significance of the day not only for the Perthville Sisters, the whole Congregation and the Bathurst Diocese, but for the Church.
The community then prayed together to give thanks and to farewell Perthville. Prayers were shared in gratitude for the many people who have journeyed with the Sisters over the years. A symbol was placed in the prayer space for the past Sisters, for boarders of St Joseph’s College and their parents, the many schools which were opened in the Diocese and beyond, the benefactors and volunteers, the priest friends of the Sisters, Josephite Associates and Companions and people from the local Perthville and Bathurst community.
The day concluded with a Mass of thanksgiving concelebrated by Bishop Michael McKenna and 12 priests. A very touching moment was the final prayer: “We let you go.”
Many of the women who were boarders at Perthville expressed gratitude for the empowerment they were given from the College. In the words of one woman: “We were very naive when we arrived and the Sisters taught us we could do anything we wanted to do. You were into Women’s Lib before it was famous!”
In another moving tribute, Elaine Harvey spoke of the gift of self-belief she received from the Sisters, especially Sr Marie Williams and Sr Carmel Sheridan, when caring for the elderly Sisters:
Never forgotten but remembered.
Never discouraged but empowered.
Always loved and understood.
Having a home here at Perthville to call my own.
Sr Anne Porter (New South Wales Regional Leader), thanked the many Sisters and other volunteers who spent so many hours preparing the Perthville complex, the rituals and the Mass. The beautiful choir, led by Sr Kerrie Cusack (who practised for hours), the visual presentations, the Perthville mementos, the volunteers who toiled tirelessly, and the solemn tolling of the bell all contributed to an amazing day.
Students from MacKillop College Bathurst carried a lantern in the entrance procession symbolising the coming of the Sisters in 1872. At the conclusion of Mass, the lantern was extinguished by Sr Monica Cavanagh, signifying the closure of the Perthville Complex.
All of us were so aware that we are standing on the shoulders of those who had gone before us. We know that the Josephite spirit lives on in so many wonderful people.
Maria Sullivan rsj