Spirit-filled evangelizers are evangelizers who pray and work. …We do well to keep in mind the early Christians and our many brothers and sisters throughout history who were filled with joy, unflagging courage and zeal in proclaiming the Gospel. ...The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him. What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known? ...There is nothing more precious which we can give to others. (Evangelii Gauidum 262-264)

World Youth Days have become a great gift to the Church and a lasting legacy of St. John Paul II. This grace-filled gathering came to Sydney, Australia in 2008, with the world convening on the beautiful shores of the “Great Southland of the Holy Spirit” to welcome Pope Benedict XVI and the youth of the world. In preparation for WYD 2008, Cardinal George Pell and then Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, OP, invited the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia to the Archdiocese of Sydney to assist in the archdiocesan World Youth Day Office. At the conclusion of World Youth Day, the invitation was extended for the community to remain in the Archdiocese to become involved in teaching and university chaplaincy. In Sydney, the sisters currently teach at Trinity Catholic College and St. Peter Chanel Catholic Primary School. The sisters also serve on the chaplaincy team at the University of Sydney, at the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, and at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd.

The Congregation was invited by Archbishop Denis Hart to open a second convent in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The sisters serve at St. Bernard Parish Primary School and the university chaplaincy for the Archdiocese.

The sisters are involved in numerous initiatives to promote the new evangelization, support family life and vocations. Throughout the year, the sisters host vocation retreats and retreats for women. They have also been blessed with opportunities to travel throughout Australia, New Zealand, and beyond, attending retreats, witnessing to religious life, and giving talks. Since the community began its mission in Australia in 2008, numerous young women from Australia have given their ‘yes’ to the Lord in responding to His call to religious life as a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia. The Congregation is grateful to be serving in the Archdioceses of Sydney and Melbourne.

For more information about retreats or other events hosted by the sisters in Sydney or Melbourne, click here or email sydney@op-tn.org or melbourne@op-tn.org.