After more than 30 years of walking alongside the residents of Victoria’s prisons, Good Samaritan Sister Mary O’Shannassy has officially retired from her role as Senior Chaplain of the state’s CatholicCare Prison Ministry Team, receiving a distinguished Papal Honour in recognition of her decades of dedication.
By Debra Vermeer
“It’s been a privilege,” Mary said. “To simply be there, as a presence for the residents, has been an immense privilege.”
Mary’s enormous contribution as the longest-serving Senior Prison Chaplain and the only female to have held that leadership role in Victoria, was recognised with a Mass on 13 May in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Archbishop Peter A Comensoli presided at the Mass, which was concelebrated by Melbourne’s Auxiliary Bishops, Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst Diocese, and a number of priests who celebrate the Masses for the residents in the prisons.
At a gathering afterwards, Archbishop Comensoli presented Mary with the Papal Cross of Honour – the highest honour the Pope can confer on an individual for their distinguished service to the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli presents Sister Mary O’Shannassy SGS with the Papal Cross of Honour. Image: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Mary said it was a great honour to receive the Papal Medal for a ministry she felt blessed to be a part of.
“It’s really been a time of privilege for me to be with and to companion, listen to and encourage these people,” she said.
“Many people who end up in prison have no idea of anything good about themselves. So, to help them to come to accept the person that he or she is, and to be proud of themselves as they grow in self-awareness is a really big thing.
“When they come into prison, they’re in a very, very dark place. And that was brought home to me as I was saying farewell to the residents. So many of them expressed thanks for being with them and helping them through the dark times.”
Mary said that being a prison chaplain brought to life the words of Pope Francis that the Church is a field hospital and that those in ministry need to take on the smell of the sheep who are in their care.
“Prisons are field hospitals, and you certainly do get the smell of the sheep in prisons. You get to know the people and where they are. And some of them have never known anything different. They’ve grown up with people who have been criminals and that’s the only life they know,” she said.
“That’s why being a presence for them is so important. I call it ‘loitering with intent’. It’s being a welcoming, affirming presence, which all contributes to affirming their dignity as a person.
“And once they can embrace their own dignity, they can come to respect themselves as a person and then they’re able to respect another person.”
From left: Deputy Premier of Victoria the Hon Ben Carroll, Sister Mary O’Shannassy SGS and Archbishop Peter A Comensoli. Image: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Mary said one of the most powerful things she did for those in prison was to call them by their name.
“Lots of them get called lots of things,” she said. “To call them by their name, their real name, not a nickname or a name their mates call them, is like a spark of light for them, to give them that dignity. It enables the transformation back to the uniqueness of them as a person.”
After many years of teaching and parish ministry, in 1994 Mary moved into prison chaplaincy.
“As a Sister of the Good Samaritan, my ministry is centred in, and really belongs to, both my Baptism and my religious profession. It enables me to utilise the gifts that I’ve received to be a messenger of God’s mercy, forgiveness, compassion and love to the people, and that’s at the heart of prison chaplaincy,” she said.,
“Prison ministry has been integral for us as a congregation from the beginning,” she said.
“I’m an ardent follower of our founder, John Bede Polding, who embraced this ministry with the people who came to Australia as convicts, and he visited them and cared for them pastorally, and our early Sisters then continued this ministry. And right throughout the history of our congregation we see different aspects of this ministry.”
Mary said the Parable of the Good Samaritan was also foundational to the work of prison chaplaincy.
“It’s a very significant parable in our ministry, because the people that we don’t often hear referred to in that parable are the people who have caused the person to be injured by the roadside. In our ministry, we are dealing with the people who’ve caused the havoc, who have caused the hurt, and who have damaged other people,” she said.
“We are recognising that these people who have caused the hurt are also in need of healing and mercy, as are the people who’ve been hurt, and we work with them for the betterment of society, so that there’s less violence and hurt in society.”
Mary said much has changed in her decades of prison chaplaincy, and there has been progress in the way prisons operate, including opportunities for skills training and work for prison residents in areas such as metal work, woodwork, catering and gardening.
“Many of the residents here in Victoria are becoming skilled and are getting jobs before they leave prison, so they’ve got somewhere to go for work when they leave, and that is a wonderful advance,” she said.
“A few years ago, prison management rewrote the prison documents in line with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and that has resulted in amazing attitudinal changes in the system.”
In 2017, Mary was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) and in 2021 she was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate from Australian Catholic University in recognition of her service and leadership in chaplaincy.
In 2019, she was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from Nick Selisky, the General Manager of the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Melbourne, commending her for setting “a positive example for all in the system” and assisting in the rehabilitation of prisoners.
“You have encouraged us, challenged us, and we are better for it,” the certificate read. “You have … consistently engaged the most difficult to engage prisoners by affirming their humanity, provided prisoners with dignity and fostered a sense of worth and respect in a manner that very few others have. Your empathetic and persistent approach to working with the men has set a positive example for all in the system, and most importantly you have assisted in the rehabilitation of prisoners, which in turn supports the safety and well-being of our wider community.”
Sister Mary O’Shannassy SGS. Image: Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.
Mary said another “exceptional blessing” during her years of prison ministry was the opportunity to work with chaplains of other faiths.
“We now have prayer spaces or chapels in each of the 15 prisons throughout Victoria, and all of us can use the one space,” she said.
“Together we chose four symbols that unite us – light, greenery, water and a table of hospitality – that can stay in that space at all times. When we are using the space, we can each take in the different items more specific to our faith. For example, as Christians we can take in a crucifix and have it there during our service. It is a wonderful collaboration. And these sacred spaces mean a great deal to the residents.”
Mary said CatholicCare Victoria’s Prison Chaplaincy Team now consisted of the equivalent of six full-time chaplains, 10 volunteer chaplains, 60 volunteers and 40 priests, including a worship and hospitality group whose members attend Mass with the prison residents.
“Many of these residents have not been part of a faith community since school, if ever, and so this group of volunteers is there to pray with them, to share hospitality and to have conversation with them afterwards. It is really a very special time.”
As she looks back on more than three decades of prison chaplaincy, Mary said the thing that brought her most joy was the people.
“And by that, I mean everyone,” she said. “The residents themselves, who have blessed me in many ways, the prison staff, the chaplains of other faiths, the volunteers, the clergy, everyone.
“It is that interaction with the people that I’ll miss and seeing the growth that takes place. I am filled with gratitude for the blessings of these years.”
As for what retirement might hold, Mary said she has no firm plans in place. “I’ll take a break at the moment to just appreciate each day, one day at a time, and then see what opens up.”
