From suffering to sainthood — Eileen O’Connor on path to be Australia’s second saint
A WOMAN who dedicated her life to helping the sick and poor is a step closer to being Australia’s second saint, after the Vatican approved Eileen O’Connor’s elevation to a Servant of God.
NSW
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COME on Eileen.
The Vatican has boosted Australia’s campaign for its second saint with Sydney Good Samaritan Eileen O’Connor reaching the next step in the process.
Only months after the Catholic Church formally launched its efforts to have Ms O’Connor beatified, Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher received a letter saying she has earned the title of Servant of God — the first of four steps towards sainthood.
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Sydney Bishop Anthony Randazzo, who researched Ms O’Connor’s life on behalf of the Church, said she was an “extraordinary woman” and “constantly thinking of others.”
“In the letter, they wrote back saying there were no obstacles in the way of investigating the life of Eileen O’Connor and her works and that’s the first step,” he said.
“It means that the path is now clear and he’s (Archbishop) been authorised to move the process on.”
Sydney nun Mary MacKillop is Australia’s only saint.
Archbishop Fisher said: “Eileen’s was a life of immense suffering and judged by today’s standards many would have viewed it as lacking in dignity, value or hope.
“That she is on her way to possibly being our next saint shows even a short life, marked by incredible suffering, can be an inspiration to all and reminds us of the dignity of every human life.”
At just three years old, Ms O’Connor suffered a crippling break in her spine and was in constant pain until her death at age 28 in 1921.
During her brief life, she co-founded the religious order of Our Lady’s Nurses of the Poor — more commonly known as the Brown Nurses — dedicated to helping the sick and dying poor in their homes.
Brown nun Sister Margaret Mary Birgan said Ms O’Connor’s progression on the path to sainthood was “wonderful news”.
“It’s what we’ve been waiting for, for a long time,” she said.
“This might be a good time to give the Church a bit of a lift.”
The next step is to show proof of a life of ‘heroic virtue’, then comes ‘verified miracles’ and finally canonisation.