Have you passed by McEvoy and Elizabeth Streets in Waterloo lately? You may have noticed a striking mural on the wall outside of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel primary school. That’s Eileen O’Connor, Sydney’s very own saint-in-waiting.
Artist Danny Mulyono is behind the artwork to honor Ms O’Connor on the 100th anniversary of her death. The artist was commissioned by Fr Paul Smithers, the parish priest of the Catholic Community of Sydney City South.
The church community is hoping to raise more awareness about Ms O’Connor’s contribution to Sydney following a movement in February 2020 for her canonisation.
“Eileen demonstrated an intentional faith in Jesus and despite her physical disabilities she established Our Lady’s Brown Nurses for the Poor,” Fr Smithers said.
“In our area, we have murals of talented footballers and political satire, I thought there was a room for a mural to raise awareness of a local hero who will potentially be our next Australian Saint. Yes, people certainly notice it and I hope it will become a talking point.”
Reports cited that the Sydney Archdiocesan has been investigating evidence of Ms O’Connor’s “holiness and a life of heroic virtue” in her path to sainthood. If canonised, she will become the second Australian saint after Mary MacKillop.
The saint-in-waiting, born in 1892, developed a spinal disease after a pram accident when she was 3 years old. Despite her perennial nerve pain, Ms O’Connor committed her life to service and kept her Catholic faith strong. She was a devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary and experienced an apparition when her family moved from Melbourne to Coogee. It has been said that the Blessed Virgin Mary encouraged Ms O’Connor to embrace her physical suffering and do good for others.
Eileen O’Connor was the driving force behind the Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor. She received support from Fr Edward Gell, Fr Edward McGrath, and other benefactors to build parish schools in Sydney.
Ms O’Connor’s leadership also shaped the Sydney congregation. However, her life was cut short at 28 years old due to tubercular transverse myelitis of the spine in 1921.
Sixteen years after she was buried, a move was made to transfer her remains to the Our Lady’s Home in Coogee from the Randwick Cemetery. Unofficial reports stated that her body “was found to be incorrupt.”