Mary Aikenhead's Story

Mary Aikenhead was born in Cork on the 19th January 1787. Her mother, Mary Stacpole, was a Roman Catholic, while her father, David Aikenhead was a Scottish Protestant. On 4th April Mary Aikenehad was baptised into the Anglican community at St. Anne’s Church, Shandon.

A delicate child, Mary Aikenhead was cared for in her early years by Mary and John Rorke in their cottage at Eason's Hill in Cork. It was here, from a very early age, that Mary experienced and absorbed the couples deep trusting love of God and their compassion for their neighbour, as they struggled to survive.

Mary’s father, Dr. Aikenhead, died in 1801 and on his deathbed he converted to Catholicism. In June 1802, influenced by her relationship with Mary and John Rorke, the faith of her maternal grandmother and her devout aunt, Rebecca Gorman, Mary was received into the Catholic Church.

In that same year, she was deeply moved by a sermon on the parable of Dives and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31) - this is the story of an uncaring rich man who ends up in hell, and the poor beggar who inherits paradise. Mary’s heart burned within her as she heard the message of God's deep love and compassion for the forgotten, the unwanted, the rejected, the weak and the needy, and her desire to devote her life to the service of the poor grew stronger.

In 1807 Mary made the acquaintance of Mrs. Anna Maria O’Brien from Dublin and was invited by her to experience the poverty of the capital city. Mary accepted this offer and stayed for a number of weeks visiting the poor and the sick in the back streets and tenements. It was here that she met Fr. Daniel Murray, the future archbishop of Dublin.

In 1812, at the age of 23 Mary Aikenhead moved to Dublin and with the help of Dr Murray, discussed the establishment of a new religious congregation in Ireland. In 1815, following training at the Bar Convent in York, she founded the Religious Sisters of Charity.

In the 1820’s and 1830’s the work of the Sisters of Charity grew and expanded from Dublin to Cork, and to Australia in 1838. This work included the establishment of schools, hospitals and orphanages for people in need; and very importantly the visiting of the poor, especially the sick poor in their homes and in prison.

Increasing unemployment, outbreaks of cholera and the great famine were part of the setting in which Mary Aikenhead founded her new Congregation. Love was the compelling force behind all of her life's work. Her warm-hearted caring love sprang from her deep tender love for God which was rooted in faith - a faith which enabled her to find God in all things and to love Him in all people.

For the last twenty seven years of her life, Mary was confined to her bed or a wheelchair. Her vision and energy were not weakened by this confinement, but distilled into a deeper definition of service. From her sick bed she continued to govern the young congregation and to communicate the love of Christ urging us onwards. Mary Aikenhead died on the 22nd July 1858. On hearing the news of her death a poor farmer paid her this tribute: "that matchlesss woman! In her, Ireland's poor have lost their best friend."

After her death her vision to give to the poor what the rich can buy with money continued to grow and spread in Ireland, England and Scotland, Zambia, and California, Nigeria, Venezuela and Australia.

Mary Aikenhead’s God-inspired dream was to respond to the needs of the people of her time, especially the poorest. She worked for this to become a reality by founding the Religious Sisters of Charity. We, the Religious Sisters of Charity today, are all part of that dream and of its fulfilment in the twenty first century.