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The Sisters of Mercy purchased the property on which the College is
now situated in 1917. The school was opened on 18 February 1918 with 14
pupils enrolled.
Villa Maria began serving the district as a
parish school when boys were admitted in 1921. When another Catholic
school (St Teresa's) opened later nearby, boys were transferred from
Villa and from 1941 the school reverted to being a college for girls.
The
school continued to grow due to housing developments in the area and
additional building was undertaken to keep pace with the growth. This
included accommodation for boarders which was maintained until a
decision by the Sisters saw the boarding school phased out from 1979 and
Villa Maria reverting to a day school.
In 1981 the College was
integrated into the New Zealand state school system. In 1992 the last
Sister of Mercy Principal resigned and the first lay Principal was
appointed.
In 1995 the Sisters gifted the Villa Maria convent buildings to the College for use as classrooms.
Catherine McAuley
Having
lost her father as a small child, Catherine became orphaned at 18 with
the death of her mother. By this time the family had little money so
Catherine and her two siblings moved to live with relatives.
Unfortunately her relatives also struggled financially, and so Catherine
went to live with wealthy friends of her relatives, the Callahans.
Catherine spent her time learning about her religion, praying, and
serving the needy.
When Mr Callahan died, he left his entire fortune to Catherine.
It
was now 1827 and Catherine did not like what she saw happening to the
poor in Dublin. There were so many women with no place to live and so
many children who were not receiving proper education. Catherine took
the money she had inherited and used it to build a house - an
extraordinary house.
Catherine
built the house right in the middle of a wealthy neighbourhood. She
chose this place intentionally; she wanted the poor to be noticed by the
rich, so that once the young women had been trained in sewing, cooking
and cleaning they might be given jobs by the rich families in the area.
In addition to her classes during the day, Catherine also made the
house available to many homeless girls in need of safe lodging.
This
house still stands and many people from all over the world go to
visit the house built by such a remarkable woman. Catherine McAuley was
an idealist in her concept of the power of women for the betterment of
society. She was a woman of prayer, penance and humility, with an
unbounded confidence in God.
Sisters of Mercy New Zealand Web Site
Sisters of Mercy International Web Site
Today,
about 20,000 Sisters of Mercy carry on an extensive medical and social
apostolate in the tradition of Catherine McAuley whose creed of service
was that "the poor need help today, not next week".
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