Story

The Life and Work of Catherine McAuley, 1778-1841
by Mary C. Sullivan rsm

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Slowly the example of Jesus Christ assumed more compelling force in Catherine's life: she began to feel an insistent vocation to devote her life to the service of the poor, the sick, and the uneducated, especially those suffering debilitating ignorance of God's consoling love. She soon realized the many social, economic, and political oppressions under which they struggled, and she had bitter experiences trying to find shelter for abused servant women and homeless girls who were turned down by bureaucratic institutions with little sense of the urgency of their situations. These experiences left indelible sorrow and determination in her mind and heart.

The Coolock years concluded in an extraordinary gift. After a long illness, and aided by Catherine McAuley's presence and prayer, Catherine Callaghan died in October 1819. Three years later William Callaghan asked to be received into the Catholic Church before his death on November 10, 1822. The influence of Catherine on him was fully complemented by his influence on her. While he lived he shared his wealth generously with the poor whom she served. After he died, he revealed his full admiration for her and her work: by codicil to his will, after other designated bequests, he named Catherine the sole residuary legatee of his estate and his life's savings valued then at about £25,000.

Though she continued to reside at Coolock for the next six years, she radically increased her social work among the poor, teaching them religious doctrine, reading, industrial crafts, and other useful skills, and formulating her long-range plans. She consulted priest friends about how best to meet the needs of the destitute. She also consulted the Irish Sisters of Charity, though she was convinced that the work she was projecting could not be affiliated with any religious congregation for she had an aversion to certain aspects of convent life and to the restrictions she thought religious life would impose on the works of mercy to which she felt called.