Dozens of the faithful have braved Sydney’s heat to commemorate Eileen O’Connor on the 105th anniversary of her death.
The memory of Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor (OLN) co-founders Eileen and Fr Timothy Edward McGrath MSC was honoured in the Mass held in St Brigid’s parish in Coogee.
They founded the religious congregation to care for the sick, dying, and abandoned poor in their own homes, so no one would be left to suffer or die alone or without proper care.
Presided over by Bishop Terence Brady, the pair’s spirituality and social consciousness were praised, with the bishop linking their Irish heritage to their ministry.
“It’s about the poor but at the same times it’s very deep spirituality and spiritual leadership,” said Bishop Brady in his homily.
“We can’t go wrong in the Lord if we stay close to the poor and those in the margins.”
Eileen’s social mindedness was praised as being ahead of her time as many of her ideals are shared with Pope Leo XIV, said Bishop Brady.
“Eileen certainly was a person of her time but almost certainly more a person of our time,” he said.
“Being with the poor, being with the fragile, being with the broken, but in that, being with Jesus.”
Bishop Brady later told The Catholic Weekly the Servant of God is a miracle away from being beatified and hopes she will be declared venerable “in the near future.”
He told The Catholic Weekly a tumour on his kidney, which he was told would eventually be fatal, was removed in a single surgery without the need for chemotherapy – a result the bishop credits to his prayers to Eileen.
Both Bishop Brady and Sr Kerry MacDermott OLN were moved by the strong attendance at the memorial Mass.
“Considering it was such a hot day for people and there’s never anywhere to park, I think people coming today is just absolutely wonderful,” Sr MacDermott said.
Sr MacDermott been an OLN sister for 61 years and has been posted in Sydney’s far west since the 1980s, only returning to the Coogee homebase in August 2025.
She said Eileen is a “saint for our time” as she dedicated herself to the poor in eastern suburbs Sydney even as she dealt with her debilitating medical conditions.
“It’s all about care of the poor and to be aware of the needs of people who are struggling and to do what we can no matter whether we’re in a religious order or not but following Eileen’s inspiration,” she said.
