THE Sisters of Mercy and their first Queensland school, in the grounds of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane, were recognised on March 20 with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque on the site.
The sisters’ Brisbane foundress, Mother Vincent Whitty, was the first principal of St Stephen’s School, which operated from 1861 until its closure in 1965.
It was the first ministry of the Sisters of Mercy in Queensland and served as the initial site for All Hallows’ School before it moved to its permanent home in Ann St.
Brisbane congregational leader, Sr Sandra Lupi, said even though the school had been closed for more than 40 years many sisters and former students “still fondly recall their little school in the middle of the city”.
Sr Lupi said St Stephen’s School was unique among the parish primary schools of Brisbane in that it was a girls’ only school for much of its 104 years.
She said the plaque commemorated a “significant slice of history” of both the Sisters of Mercy and Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
