248:. The nuns kept vigil overnight, in keeping with Catholic tradition. On 9 June 1938, Archbishop O'Shea presided over a Solemn Requiem Mass in the chapel. The Very Reverend R. Macken gave the eulogy. In his remarks, he observed that "Australia is indebted to her more than any other for the growth and expansion of that great home of the healing known as Lewisham." The chapel, which seated 650, was filled to capacity.
161:
was supervised by Potter herself. After professing her final vows, she adopted her religious name, "Mary
Francis Xavier". She also began wearing the order's blue habit; this distinctive dress earned members of the order the nickname of "Blue Nuns" or "Blue Sisters". Lynch received training as a nurse in Rome, and then worked in Rome, Fiesole and Florence, both in hospitals and in private homes.
117:, was an Irish-born Australian religious sister and nurse. She was a member of the Little Company of Mary, and served as the congregation's first provincial for the region of Australasia. She oversaw the growth of the Lewisham Hospital as superior of the Lewisham convent. As provincial, she established several more hospitals in Australia and New Zealand.
189:
For the next 40 years, Lynch oversaw management of the
Lewisham Hospital. The facility served women and children in its early years, but in 1912 it began admitting male patients. Due in large part to Lynch's dedication and skilled administration, it came to be regarded as one of the best hospitals in
173:
In 1899, before the completion of the new building in Malta, Lynch was recalled to Rome by Mary Potter. Her leadership and administrative skills were needed for a new assignment. Potter asked Lynch to serve a six-month stint as visitor-general for the
Australian congregation of the Little Company of
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Lynch remained at the mother house in Rome until 1894, when she was sent to establish a congregation of the order in Malta. She was joined by three other Blue
Sisters; they were responding to the invitation of Archbishop Pietro Pace for skilled nurses to care for the ill. Lynch was appointed superior
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Lynch also increased the number of hospitals managed by the "Blue
Sisters". In November 1899, upon the request of community leaders in North Adelaide, Lynch agreed to send sisters to manage the hospital there, which was in debt and in need of skilled nurses. In 1904, again responding to a request,
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Also in 1914, Lynch travelled to Rome to attend the first general chapter of the Little
Company of Mary, occasioned by the death of the order's foundress, Mary Potter. Interested in maintaining the highest standards of care, Lynch went on to visit hospitals in England and the United States to learn
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in 1877. The order's particular mission was to care for the sick and the dying, and the sisters were trained in nursing. Lynch moved to Rome, Italy, where Potter had established a mother house in 1882. Lynch joined the Little
Company of Mary as a postulant on 1 April 1887. During her novitiate, she
185:
By 1899, tensions had arisen between the church hierarchy and the sisters, as well as within the community itself. Lynch was tasked with bringing about reconciliation. She arrived in Sydney on 21 August 1899. At the end of six months, she was appointed superintendent of the congregation.
178:, who was returning from a trip to Rome. They formed a convent in Lewisham, next to St Thomas Catholic Church. The sisters first founded the Children's Hospital of the Holy Child in 1889. A general hospital was begun on 7 August 1898. The order also managed the Mount St Margaret
201:
In 1922, the Little
Company of Mary, having grown in size, formally established four separate provinces; Lynch was appointed provincial for the Australasian province. On 28 August 1924, a celebration was held to honour the 25th anniversary, or
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she sent four sisters from her congregation to South Africa to establish a hospital in Port
Elizabeth. In 1914, she established a new congregation in Christchurch, New Zealand, and opened a hospital there the following year.
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On 18 September 1927, Archbishop
Michael Kelly officiated at the opening of the Maternal Heart Chapel in Lewisham Hospital. Lynch had led the effort to raise funds to establish the new chapel at the hospital.
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Lynch retired due to ill health in 1929 and lived her last years at the sisters' home in Wollongong. She died on 7 June 1938, 50 years to the day from the opening of the Lewisham Hospital.
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Upon her death, her body was brought to the Chapel of the Maternal Heart at Lewisham Hospital, where it was received by a choir of nuns and members of the clergy, including
136:
Not much is known about her childhood, but in rural Ireland, many families dependent on agriculture experienced hardship. The 1870s were a time of rising tensions over
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of the new convent. In 1898, a convent building to house the sisters was started; it was completed in 1901 and the top floor was used for a hospital.
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Mary. A small group of sisters, under the leadership of Mother Mary Rafael Farrar, had arrived Sydney in 1885, accompanying Cardinal
206:, of her arrival in Sydney. She travelled to Rome shortly thereafter to attend the election of the new Mother-General of the order.
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140:. Due to flooding and lost crops, the years 1879 and 1880 were particularly difficult, with famine adding to political tensions.
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After the Mass, a large funeral procession made its way to Rookwood Cemetery, where Lynch was buried with Catholic rites.
156:. Drawn to the religious life, Lynch decided to join the Little Company of Mary, a Catholic religious order founded by
254:
Countess Eileen Marie Freehill donated 5,000 Pounds to the Lewisham Hospital in memory of Lynch. Her husband, Colonel
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129:, in County Cavan, Ireland. She was named after her mother, Annie Lynch, nÊe O'Reilly. Her father worked as a
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568:"The Hospitaller Activities of the Sisters of Charity of St Joan Antide in the Maltese Islands"
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213:, New South Wales. In 1927, she oversaw the founding of a second hospital in New Zealand, in
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Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1928)
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726:"Jubilee Celebrations at Lewisham : Mother Mary Francis Xavier Honored"
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333:, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
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more about current trends in nursing and hospital administration.
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133:, responsible for the care and feeding of sheep and cattle.
353:"Landed Estates in Mid-Ulster and the Irish Land War 1879â85"
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As a young woman, Lynch attended a convent school run by the
113:(1870 – 1938), known by her religious name as
895:
Catholic Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1932 - 1942)
869:
Catholic Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1932 - 1942)
654:
Catholic Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1932 - 1942)
701:"Mary Potter - Foundress of the Little Company of Mary"
782:Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932)
730:Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932)
16:Religious and hospital administrator (1870 â 1938)
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490:Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954)
436:Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954)
258:, was secretary of the hospital for many years.
756:Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942)
545:Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942)
516:Catholic Press (Sydney, NSW : 1895 - 1942)
834:Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)
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273:Little Company of Mary Health Care (Australia)
125:Annie Lynch was born in 1870 in the town of
943:20th-century Australian Roman Catholic nuns
458:"Little Company of Mary | Encyclopedia.com"
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778:"A Tribute to Mother Mary Francis Xavier"
209:In 1926, Lynch established a hospital in
891:"MAGNIFICENT GIFT TO LEWISHAM HOSPITAL"
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351:Kirkpatrick, Robert W. (1 June 1978).
58:Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
953:Irish emigrants to colonial Australia
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512:"Death of Mother Mary Xavier Lynch"
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622:"History â Maternal Heart of Mary"
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331:Australian Dictionary of Biography
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650:"The Late Mother M. Xavier Lynch"
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357:Irish Economic and Social History
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752:"Mother Xavier's Silver Jubilee"
486:"NORTH ADELAIDE NURSING SISTERS"
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865:"A Great Nursing Sister Passes"
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492:. 10 October 1902. p. 11
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897:. 10 August 1939. p. 18
784:. 28 August 1924. p. 22
758:. 28 August 1924. p. 14
732:. 28 August 1924. p. 20
547:. 28 August 1924. p. 25
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871:. 16 June 1938. p. 21
566:Savona-Ventura, C (2008).
518:. 16 June 1938. p. 20
369:10.1177/033248937800500107
327:"Lynch, Annie (1870â1938)"
104:The Little Company of Mary
836:. 8 June 1938. p. 19
830:"REV. MOTHER XAVIER DIES"
705:www.maristmessenger.co.nz
656:. 9 June 1938. p. 22
541:"MOTHER XAVIER'S JUBILEE"
438:. 1 July 1938. p. 15
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432:"MOTHER M. XAVIER LYNCH"
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810:. 5 May 1927. p. 1
169:Leadership in Australia
83:Hospital administration
67:Christianity (Catholic)
591:dictionaryofsydney.org
585:Meader, Chrys (2008).
406:Little Company of Mary
680:lcmsisters-africa.org
462:www.encyclopedia.com
278:Nursing in Australia
236:, the Archbishop of
180:psychiatric hospital
325:Dewdney, J. C. H.,
240:, New Zealand, and
804:"THE BLUE SISTERS"
246:apostolic delegate
115:Mother Mary Xavier
91:Mother Mary Xavier
88:Monastic name
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928:1938 deaths
923:1870 births
211:Wagga Wagga
158:Mary Potter
121:Early years
111:Annie Lynch
72:Nationality
51:7 June 1938
25:Annie Lynch
917:Categories
587:"Lewisham"
287:References
238:Wellington
215:Wellington
152:in nearby
75:Australian
385:164293017
377:0332-4893
901:22 April
875:22 April
840:22 April
814:27 April
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710:26 April
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627:22 April
601:22 April
595:Archived
551:22 April
522:22 April
496:26 April
467:22 April
442:22 April
411:22 April
337:22 April
262:See also
127:Virginia
64:Religion
31:Personal
131:grazier
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244:, the
381:S2CID
101:Order
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373:ISSN
339:2021
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48:Died
39:1870
36:Born
365:doi
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