Mercy in Oceania and Beyond

Tonga

In response to a plea from the then Bishop of Tonga, New Zealander, Bishop John Rodgers SM in 1964, the Christchurch congregation established a house in Lapaha.  The founding four Sisters taught school, worked with the villagers in raising crops and pigs and ministering to the people in a host of ways.

Today Sisters in communities at Kolonga and Lapaha are engaged in secondary school teaching, parish work, support for women and children, prison chaplaincy and justice and development programmes.

Samoa

In 1972, at the request of Samoa’s Cardinal Pio, the Auckland congregation established a house in Leulumoega outside the capital Apia.  Principally they were asked to staff the new secondary school, Paul VI College, built on land gifted by the Pope.  Sisters later taught in the local primary school St Joan of Arc and established a clinic and an early childhood centre. There was also a novitiate from 1982 - 1990.

In 2003, another community was founded in Fusi, on the island of Savaii, to staff St Theresa’s primary school and early childhood centre. 

Over the years Sisters from throughout Aotearoa New Zealand have served alongside indigenous Sisters in mission to Tonga and Samoa and elsewhere in the Pacific.

Global Mission

A number of Sisters have served or are still serving on mission to poor indigenous communities in Peru, Chile, South Africa, Jamaica and Australia.

Mercy Art and Creativity Centre Melbourne, was a joint venture of the Auckland and Melbourne Congregations for eight years. From 2005 - 2009 it was succeeded by Mercy Sculpture Centre, also in Melbourne.