Celebrating Foundation Day 2024

7 Oct 2024

Today we celebrate the establishment of the Sisters of St John of God in Wexford, Ireland in 1871. We honour the many Sisters who have since followed in their footsteps providing care for the disadvantaged throughout the world, especially the Sisters who served here in Australia and laid the foundations for the St John of God Health Care that we are all part of now.

The Foundation Day theme for this year, 'Embracing hope, shaping our future', encourages us to reflect on our past while looking ahead with hope. Sometimes hope takes courage and the words “Be strong and of good courage, and act” (1 Chronicles 28:20) is a timely message for us as we continually reimagine how we serve communities and support each other in our work.

Over the last 153 years, the Sisters have exemplified strength, courage, hope and an unwavering commitment to action, even in the face of adversity. This has shaped who we are today – one of the nation’s largest Catholic health care providers with a dedicated network of 16,500 caregivers across 26 hospitals and services in Australia and New Zealand caring for more than 400,000 people every year.

Eight Sisters arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1895, responding to an invitation from Perth’s Bishop Matthew Gibney to help care for the sick. By 1900 there were 17 Sisters from both Ireland and Australia. Of this group, seven were amongst the first trained nurses in Western Australia.

It is truly special to trace a connection back to this moment in history and reflect on the impact that the Sisters have had on health care in Australia. We are privileged that each of us has been entrusted by the Sisters to continue the ministry they founded. We carry forward their spirit of courage and lessons of hope in our own lives.