Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in New Zealand - UC Research ...

64
consequence - self-support~ From small beginnings in a
house formerly mvnecl by Captain Gibson in Exeter Street, .
the Sisters pressed onward vti th great endurance under the
leadership of 1·1er U. Aloysius McGrath, one the
original band of pioneers from Ennis.
Their new mission
was not one to fire the blood -
it demanded constant
sacrifice and only after years of suffering and str•uggling
did they triumph.
':Pheir perseverance was in large measul"e
clue to the inspiring e:-;:arople of . other M.
Aloysius whose
ever-increasing self-restraint moved forward progressively
with a daily enlar.:Jed innulgence foi' the weakness of
other's.
Slle was an able and well-balanced guide wJ.wse
earnest spirit, combined 'Ji th an aptitude organis ion,
preser•ved her fr•om discouragement snd infused additional
vigour· into those amon::; whorn she vvox•ked.
Organising and
superintending everything rrith a skill, presence of mind
and cheeriness which endeai•ed her to
woraan laboured on, knowing well that in
1, this zealous
s O\Vll time God
would give'the increase'.
(1 )In 1902 rauch needed improvements
vYere effected in the Convent and a new school was
built. Four years previously I.,yttel ton sent foul' Sisters
to open a Branch Convent in i\karoa and again, in 1912 and
1913, similar Convents were opened in Rakaia and Llethven respectively.
In 1934 the present artisically-constructed
----~-------------------------------
1. Lyttelton Records, unpubli