The cause of the Servant of God Eileen O’Connor, the “Little Mother”, has taken another step forward. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
In October 2024, the boxes containing all the acts and documentation collected over four years by the diocesan inquiry were formally presented by Fr Anthony Robbie to the Roman authorities at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The boxes have now been opened and formally identified in the presence of the Roman postulator, Fr Martin Roestenburg, O.Praem, and Vatican officials.
The information will be thoroughly examined before weighing the merits of the cause in order to make a formal pronouncement on whether Eileen merits beatification.
Eileen O’Connor was born in 1892 into a family of devout Catholic Irish immigrants, and died in 1921.
A childhood accident left her with severe medical issues, which caused her to become bedridden for much of her young life, while suffering constant pain.
Despite her incapacities, from her sickbed in the Sydney suburb of Coogee she founded Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor (the Brown Nurses) to provide medical care and spiritual assistance to Sydney’s poorest of the poor in their homes.
She died at the age of 28 and was buried at Coogee where generations of pilgrims continue to visit the tomb.
The opening of the documentation boxes in the Vatican Dicastery offices on October 3 marked the official opening of the “Roman phase” of the inquiry.
All the official acts, original writings, witness reports, and reports of the historians and theologians will be collated into a voluminous Positio or position paper, which will be sent to various Vatican experts who will analyse the issues in Eileen’s life and hopefully identify signs of heroic virtue in her life story.
If she passes the test, she will be declared “venerable” and from that point, a miracle will be required to have her declared “blessed”.
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Sainthood cause for Eileen O’Connor enters the next stage (The Catholic Weekly)
