History of the School
Mount St Joseph Milperra was built in answer to a desperate need for a Catholic Girls’ High School in this area. The spirit in which this need was met for the people living in and around Milperra was the same spirit which animated Mary MacKillop, one of Australia’s greatest women. Mary’s whole life was one lived in response to the needs of her day.
A school in the Spirit of Mary MacKillop
The classroom, destined to be the cradle of the Josephite schools, was a stable in the tiny country town of Penola in South Australia. Mary had gone there in 1866 at the request of Father Julian Tenison Woods, who was concerned about the Catholic education of poor children, particularly those in outback areas.
Mary MacKillop began living a simple lifestyle similar to that of the poorest families in the district. Soon joined by other women responding to this need, she and her companions began calling themselves “Sisters of St Joseph”. Her spirit, and that of those early Sisters, was essentially Australian displaying a commitment to the equality of all people. It was Mary’s ideal that her Sisters would be dedicated to upholding the dignity of all people regardless of their social standing.
Following Mary’s profession of vows the young Order began to flourish, both in country towns and in the city of Adelaide. She had chosen to be called “Sister Mary of the Cross”, and it was not long before the shadow of the Cross fell darkly about her. Misunderstandings and misrepresentations led the Bishop of Adelaide to excommunicate her. This was a terrible blow to one whose primary motivation was the service of God in his poor and little ones.
Although the sentence was lifted and apologies made, more suffering was to follow. Mary could see that Australia needed a Religious Order that was attuned to the spirit of the country – a united Order, under Central Government. The Bishops saw things differently, with many wanting the sisters to be under diocesan control. With the help of Rome, Mary was enabled to preserve the spirit of her institute, but not without undergoing intense personal suffering. During her time in Rome seeking approval for the Order, Mary visited a number of educational institutions in and around Europe seeking the latest in educational practice.
On March 19th, 1875, Sister Mary was elected Superior General of the Sisters of St Joseph. Rome had recognised her wisdom in striving for central government, and now, under her guidance the works of the Order, schools, hospitals, orphanages and homes flourished. Her motto was “Never see a need without trying to remedy it”. Throughout both Australia and New Zealand, St Joseph’s schools became a feature of the Catholic education system.
Mother Mary of the Cross died on August 8th, 1909. She is now buried in the Chapel at the Mother House at North Sydney, but her spirit lives on. Mary’s commitment to God’s invitation to her to follow the Gospel was evident in her dedication to justice and upholding of the dignity of all.
It was her spirit of educational endeavour and trust in God that has led the Congregation to establish itself in Catholic Secondary education for girls. We pray that it is still her spirit that permeates and upholds Mount St Joseph, that spirit which seeks ever to meet the needs of the time.
The founding of Mount St Joseph
Sr Geraldine, Mount St Joseph’s first Principal tells the story of the school’s foundation as one of responding to the needs of Catholic education in the western suburbs. Young women and men who had completed their teacher education tended to come from the more established eastern, northern and inner city suburbs and were not keen to travel to the newly established areas in the western suburbs. So in 1959 Father Landers (Panania) and Father Carr (Revesby) accompanied Mother Leone Ryan, the Superior of the Sisters of St Joseph in search of a suitable site for a new girls’ high school. At this time the population of the area was increasing rapidly and the parishes were unable to meet the costs of building a girls’ high school. The search ended with the purchase of the land on which the school now stands. The land was classified as Green Belt, so permission had to be sought and duly granted from the councils concerned. A school was built and in 1960 girls from the surrounding parish schools began their secondary education at Milperra. Since then, the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph has provided the necessary support for the ongoing development of the school.
Ensuring the Spirit lives on
April 20th, 1989, saw the beginning of a new era at MSJ with the inaugural meeting of the Mount St Joseph School Board. The Board was instituted following the incorporation of the school as Mount Saint Joseph Milperra Ltd.