A Footscray nun inspired by the charity work of Saint Mary MacKillop has been recognised for her work by being named a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM).
Sister Joan Healy received the Queen’s Birthday honour for her significant service to the Catholic Church in Australia and as a social welfare advocate in South East Asia.
Sister Joan was the co-founder and director of Footscray’s St Anthony’s Family Centre in 1976.
She was a founding board member and later chair of MacKillop Family Services and a member of a number of national and international projects aimed at bettering the lives of those in need.
She has been involved for some years in community development in Peru, East Timor and Cambodia, including time spent as a Jesuit Refugee Service volunteer on the Thai/Cambodian Border.
Born in 1935, Sister Joan has said Mother Mary MacKillop was the reason she became a nun.
When 24, she found a book about Mother Mary’s work among the poor and uneducated.
“What inspired me was here was a woman of vision and courage and prayer who was not behind a convent wall, but right down on the ground with people who were poor.”
