Sisters of the Good Samaritan

First known as the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Sisters of the Good Samaritan were founded by Archbishop Polding in the House of the Good Shepherd, Pitt Street, Sydney on 2 February 1857. They were the first institute of religious women founded in Australia. In 1866 the Sisters changed their name to the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of Saint Benedict to avoid confusion with an older Order of the same name that had arrived in Australia. More commonly known as the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, they ran many children’s homes.

The Archbishop’s particular concern in colonial Sydney was the care of women. A women’s refuge had been established in 1848 called The House of the Good Shepherd and was staffed by the Irish Sisters of Charity with the help of charitable ladies. The ability of the Sisters of Charity to continue this work was jeopardised when several of their number died. In order that the work of the House of the Good Shepherd would continue, Archbishop Polding set about establishing his own foundation. The first members of the Order began their religious training at Pitt Street under the guidance of a Sister of Charity. The Sisters first ran the Home of Good Shepherd.

As their numbers grew, the Good Samaritans extended their work to education and visiting the sick and the poor. They focused on the care of orphans and neglected children at the Parramatta Roman Catholic Orphan School, at the Industrial School and Orphanage at Manly and later at Narellan, near Camden. Sisters taught at a number of denominational schools in Sydney, as well as country towns such as Wollongong, Windsor, Braidwood, Queanbeyan, Moruya and Campbelltown. In Adelaide, the Sisters ran the Sacred Heart Orphanage.

In 1901, the resumption of land for the construction of Central Railway Station saw the Order move to Toxteth House at Glebe, where St Scholastica’s Convent was established as their new mother house. The work of the Good Samaritans has spread internationally, and their work continues to the present. Their undertakings include education, liturgical and retreat centres, hospital chaplaincy, parish ministry and ministry to the aged, the sick and the dying, to young migrants, people with disabilities, prisoners, homeless young people, Aboriginal Australians and outback families.