There we were, standing on Baggot Street, admiring a beautiful white building. Out of the corner of our eyes stood a lady in a black fedora, floral dress and bright red lipstick. This woman was our facilitator, Susan Cahill, and the beautiful white building was Mercy International.

This is what a day during the course would look like for us. We started with a morning praise and worship session, interactive presentation and discussions presented by the Sisters of Mercy and tea breaks in between, where we got to meet other learners from schools in America and Belize. The main focus of the course was the remarkable Catherine McAuley’s life and how she left her leadership legacy. Catherine McAuley was a woman born in 1778 in Dublin, Ireland and founded the Sisters of Mercy who founded our school in 1930.

Yes, Catherine McAuley lived a difficult life full of challenges but when we thought about her we only hear of all the amazing things she did. How did she transform not only her life but the lives of many others and exercise her passion of serving the poor? What did she have in her toolbox of skills and qualities?

Firstly, we learnt that she was a resourceful woman who showed genuine interest in all kinds of people.  She had a team of individuals who all specialised in different facets of skills and life that all in their own way contributed to the cause and the progression of the convent.

She saw how other women in her society were being treated and perceived. And although she wasn’t necessarily going through what they were going through she was passionate and eager to teach them skills like nursing and teaching to better their futures. Catherine McAuley was also reflective and contemplative. She analysed what she did well and what she could do better. She was extremely passionate for HUMANITY, CHRIST, OTHERS and JUSTICE. Lastly, she put her trust in God Alone. Although in her time Catholic people were excluded from voting, practising their faith and going to good schools she stayed true to her God and prayed. She said “Our centre is God, from whom all our actions spring and no actions should separate us from him.”

To conclude, during our time in Ireland we were continuously able to exercise a goal we had set for ourselves which was to “Do all ordinary things extraordinarily well”.

Lisakhanya Tshili
Learner at St. Teresa’s Mercy High School
Johannesburg