Response speech of Dr Pauline Shaw mfic

There was an article in The Tablet of July 2009 that claimed,
‘In the 1840s, the 70 year old Lady Aldborough was still travelling on the passport that said she was 25.’ 

Well I’m not 70, however I feel that I’ve been travelling on a passport given to me by women religious historians whom I met when I was in my 30s. They have inspired and carried me on for many years. I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge these women religious from different congregations, for without them, I would not be standing here today.

Many present know the story that preceded the birth of the Golding Centre. In the 1970s Australian sisters experienced the first National Survey of women religious which was capably led by Sr Carmel Leavey in the Dominican Convent here in Strathfield. I had the opportunity to work closely with Sr Carmel, Sr Rosa McGinley and a number of other women historians. I feel I have travelled a full circle for here I am in Strathfield again.

After the survey, these key women formed the Institute of Religious Studies and facilitated a number of great conferences and workshops on the History of Women Religious in 1980s and early 90s. At these conferences, sisters, including Anne McLay, a number of Josephite historians, and many other lively women, presented outstanding papers. I was doing research on Elizabeth Hayes for our sisters around this period and at one of these conferences a few sisters suggested that my research would be enriched if I placed it under a university umbrella.

The opportunity to follow their advice came in the second half of the 1990s when I was working in our aboriginal mission in the Kimberley. At Notre Dame University, Fremantle, a young woman attended my presentation on Elizabeth Hayes. She recognized that research on 19th century periodicals was cutting edge material and suggested it would be a better way forward. My supervisor, Catherine Kovesi, agreed. To cut a long story short, later I transferred to Uni of Melbourne, then finally to ACU, where Sr Rosa became my supervisor. So Australian women historians from different congregations gave me the passport that brought me here a few years ago to present at an earlier colloquia an outline of my thesis, ‘Mission through Journalism: Elizabeth Hayes and the Annals of Our Lady of the Angels’, and now again to this event to celebrate Elizabeth Hayes: Pioneer Franciscan Journalist.

Praise is due to Gracewing for making it possible to publish and promote Elizabeth Hayes in new way – as journalist. Elizabeth is known as pioneer Anglican Sister in the Oxford Movement, as Farm Street convert, friend of Sr Elizabeth and Fr William Lockhart, as energetic educator, committed missionary, Red Cross worker with Fanny Montgomery and Fr Herman Cohen in the Franco-Prussian War, a foundress in Belle Prairie, Minnesota, and so on, but now we have set her high with other 19th century religious journalists. I feel that my efforts to write about this amazing woman as Pioneer Franciscan Journalist have been worthwhile and most rewarding.

Hopefully the book will introduce this Guernsey-born woman of English descent to a whole new audience. I trust that the publication has captured a multi-talented, courageous, international woman; one who engaged in incredible networking and who exhibited an extraordinary gift for reading, writing, translating, editing, and publishing her periodical for 21 years.  I dare to hope that the text will bear fruit as women learn to better appreciate Elizabeth, and to imitate her in new and creative ways in the future.

Elizabeth with her English background deserved an English publication and I am most grateful to Gracewing, to Tom Longford in particular. Elizabeth is not widely known because her biography has been circulated in-house; now we hope that this publication will find its way to libraries, to homes and into the hands of academics and archivists like some of you, who can promote her in 19th century women’s history.  

When researching under the umbrella of Fremantle’s, Uni of Notre Dame. I was not aware at that time that Elizabeth Hayes had once been a visitor to and regular communicator with its USA big sister, Notre Dame in Indiana. Elizabeth was familiar with Notre Dame’s famous Ave Maria publication and was asked by its editor to exchanged articles for their periodical.
My publication contains biographical elements yet it originated from my doctoral dissertation. Elizabeth has been my special focus for years and I’ve literally walked in her footsteps overseas, taking photographs, presenting papers and writing articles. I am delighted to think that now Elizabeth Hayes who was such a part of the Oxford Movement history will be more accessible. Elizabeth wasn’t slow to question Dr Edward Pusey, to engage with the Keble-Lockhart circle or to speak as an equal to Dr Henry Manning and numerous other well-known ecclesiastics of her time.

Along with a number of other firsts, Elizabeth Hayes published the first Franciscan journal in the English language.  It is fitting that we have a Poor Clare with us today for in her day, Elizabeth had many connections with Poor Clare communities. Bayswater Franciscan foundress, Elizabeth Lockhart, was much admired by Elizabeth Hayes; our present house in Braintree, Essex, is the result of a 1960s amalgamation with Lockhart’s followers. Here over the years, Sr Helen Connolly, her sisters, and their marvellous old library have provided much support and assistance.

I’d like to thank, Dr Patrick Colbourne, a Franciscan international scholar - now working in South Australia, who opened the doors of Franciscan houses of study where research on 19th century Franciscan journals was completed in the UK, in other parts of Europe, and in USA. I’d like also to acknowledge Dr Tom Boland. He claimed on reading my thesis that I’d conducted an ‘immense, comprehensive and well-directed research into my subject’, and that the work ‘added a new dimension to the history of Christian development in the nineteenth century’; this gave me extra courage to write the book.

Encouragement to write came from a number of academics, not the least Dr Frank McGrath, who was able to attend our York launch. Frank, as you probably know, is a specialist on Cardinal John Henry Newman, is Brisbane born, yet works and publishes from Newman’s Oratory in Birmingham. Frank put me in touch with Gracewing publishers and has encouraged me along the journey. Special thanks to the members of my congregation who have given me time, space and support.

I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to work with sisters of other congregations in Australia, in particular Rosa MacGinley. As you know, Rosa has undertaken much research, regularly given papers, attended the History of Religious Women conferences overseas, published extensively in the field of women’s history and assisted many of us. I am greatly indebted to Rosa who checked every line in my book and graciously contributed the Foreword; I wish to convey my sincere thanks to her; without Rosa there would be no launch today.