Professor Emerita Anne Cummins with the award of Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great.

Pope Francis honoured Professor Emerita Anne Cummins with the award of Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great. This honour is granted to Catholic women and men in recognition of their service to the Church through their work and community impact.

The award was presented by Archbishop Anthony Fisher at a ceremony held at Cathedral House in Sydney on 21 March.

Anne’s long history of service, particularly in education, impacted schools, school systems and the Australian Catholic University (ACU). She began her teaching career in New South Wales (NSW) and served as Principal in several schools in NSW and Australian Capital Territory (ACT). In 1992, she was appointed as a member of the University Senate and then as Dean of Students in 2008. In that role, she led the Students, Learning, and Teaching portfolio, until her retirement from ACU as its Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students, Learning, and Teaching). Anne’s educational vision opened doors for those with few choices including for indigenous and migrant children, and for university students from developing countries.

A woman of deep faith and commitment to the mission of God, Anne has served the wider Church lending her professional expertise and wisdom to governance processes such as strategic planning, reviews and restructuring. She is currently the Chair of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Congregation’s Stewardship Commission, a body which provides leadership with advice in relation to the stewardship of its resources.

Sisters of Saint Joseph have had the privilege of working with Anne in several of these different roles across the years and want to acknowledge with gratitude the gift she has been for us and for the wider Church community. We can think of no worthier recipient of this award.

Congratulations, Anne.

Mary Ellen O’Donoghue rsj

Photos by Sr Noelene Quinane. Used with permission.