Australian Sister of the Good Samaritan of St. Benedict

Australian Sister of the Good Samaritan of St. Benedict –  Sister Mary Samuel, S.G.S.                                                    † The first religious Congregation founded in Australia †                                                                                                    The  “Good Sam”                                                                                                                            Seeking God; Being Neighbor                                                                                                              “In all things, May God be glorified.”

Founders:  Archbishop John Bede Polding, O.S.B.  ( †Australia’s first Catholic  Bishop † )                                   Mother Mary Scholastica Gibbons, R.S.C.  (Geraldine Gibbons)

Place:  Sydney, Australia

Year:  1857 A.D.

Her Charism:  Sustained by the wisdom of the Rule of St. Benedict and inspired by the parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke, this Sister is committed to all-embracing love and compassionate service, justice, and hospitality to the forgotten, voiceless, and downtrodden of society.  Known affectionately as the “Good Sam” she listens with the ears of her heart and takes seriously Jesus’ Gospel command to go and not only be a good neighbor to people we know, but to people we do not know.  Jesus also tells us to love thy neighbor as thyself.  This Sister sees that what Jesus can do with a little piece of bread, He can also do with her and with all of us.  In the oven of Christ’s Heart, kneaded by His Love, she is that loaf of bread – blessed and broken, and ready to be given to nourish and strengthen others.  Modeling the Good Samaritan in her diverse ministries, she becomes that droplet of oil and wine tenderly and compassionately poured into the wounds of her “neighbors” who are abused, abandoned, and hurting in any way.