CITATION: Sr Mary Ronayne SGS

 

 

CITATION   Read by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gregory Craven BA LLB(Hons) LLM (Melb) on the occasion of the conferring by the Chancellor, Brother Julian McDonald CFC, AO, BA, Dip.Ed.,Cert.Rel.Formation, Grad. Dip. Lang in Ed, of the degree of Doctor of the University, Honoris Causa, on

 

 

Lives lived at the forefront of one's profession have many defining moments. One such moment in the long and influential life of Sister Mary Ronayne was her address at the First National Catholic Education Conference (1972).

 

Mary's paper, titled "Practices and Problems of Administration and Organisation in the Orders" opened up to public scrutiny what she had worked for over many years: acknowledgement that Catholic education, if it was to move beyond mere survival and was to flourish, would have to make significant changes to the governance and management structures in place at that time.

 

Prior to the delivery of this paper, Mary Ronayne was recognized by her peers in both women's and men's religious orders as a leader with unwavering conviction and foresight, one who was quite unafraid of the challenges facing Catholic education, in particular.

 

Mary had been a successful secondary teacher and principal for twenty years, and was the Superior General of the Good Samaritan Order (1969-1981) at the time of this watershed address to other leaders of Catholic education, gathered at Armidale for the first national conference dealing with the Catholic Church's provision of education in the context of Australia's changing demographic. From her position of experience at the classroom and governance levels, Mary was well suited to see the significance of the past and the challenges facing Catholic education.

 

She acknowledged then, and still does, the importance of the heritage of religious orders. She looks to the future with confidence and she has a firm faith that issues must be faced honestly and with a clear vision that whatever is needed must be carried out.

 

Mary Ronayne has been a significant leader, particularly in the colleges that became part of Australian Catholic University.  She was a member of the Council of Good Samaritan Teachers' College at Glebe Point for eight years, a member of Polding College Limited for a further six years and served for a further six year term as a member of the Council of Catholic College of Education, Sydney, a College that became an integral part of Australian Catholic University in 1991.

 

Her experience in the governance of Catholic higher education over the period from 1969 to 1987 has been instrumental in her wise counsel to Catholic schools and their Boards to this very day.

 

The Government of the day recognised Mary's wisdom by appointing her as a member of the NSW State Planning and Finance Committee of the Commonwealth Schools Commission in 1983, a position she held for four years. The Catholic education authorities also acknowledged her wisdom and foresight when she was offered membership of the Catholic Education Board Sydney, NSW and when she was requested in 1988 to lead a Task Force to review the provision of Catholic education in Western Australia.

 

The Good Samaritan Sisters, founded to care for the less well off members of society, elected Mary Ronayne to carry this charism forward first as a member of the General Council and then as their Superior general for twelve years. Mary honoured the trust placed in her to ensure that the education work of the congregation was matched by its commitment to social welfare.

 

Mary has remained alert to the needy in our society and has maintained her personal interest in their welfare.  In this she has been true to the Gospel of the Good Samaritan, namely, one who sees with the eyes of God and assists those in need, becomes the heart and hands of Christ in this world.

 

Yet another of Mary Ronayne's significant contributions has been to women members of religious orders, not just to her own sisters of the Good Samaritan congregation.  In the nineteen seventies, Mary began her leadership of women religious in this country and overseas.

 

She has been the national secretary and later the national president of the Conference of Women Major Superiors and the newly combined Conference of Women and Men Major Superiors now known as Catholic Religious Australia.  At the same time, she was a Councillor for the Oceania conference of the International Union of Major Superiors.  She has represented Australian women religious at international meetings of religious - in Manila, Bombay and Rome.

 

The constant interests and commitments that have been to the fore of Mary Ronayne's life are Catholic schooling, governance of Catholic education, social welfare, and the ongoing development of Catholic women religious.

 

She has been a leader in each of these fields for over four decades, and in each area she has successfully brought many projects to fruition.