The Australian Ursuline Sisters have hosted a conference with representatives from provinces in the Asia-Pacific region, including Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and India, writes Sr Patty Andrew OSU in Catholic Outlook.

Two Sisters from the Ursuline general council in Rome also attended the conference, which was held over two weeks.

*Ursuline conference delegates gathered in a yarning circle during a visit to St Xavier College, Llandilo. PHOTO: Catholic Outlook/supplied.*

The first week offered an immersion experience in Alice Springs or Brisbane, with the entire group meeting for the second week at Mary Mackillop Place in North Sydney.

Scripture scholar Sr Mary Coloe PBVM addressed the Sisters, discussing the creation accounts between the Old and New Testaments.

“Her central focus was the tree of life, showing its centrality in the book of Genesis and its fulfilment in the Crucifixion scene as told in St John’s Gospel,” wrote Sr Patty Andrew wrote.

Conference participants visited Xavier College in Llandilo in western Sydney to observe the works of education and health. The visit was led by the senior First Nations students.

The students recounted the stories contained in the range of artworks which are featured in various parts of the college.

They led the visitors to the college’s yarning circle – a place to gather, talk and share – and described the smoking ceremonies that take place there. The visit culminated in a morning tea prepared and served by the students in the school’s Montmartre Café.

This article is drawn from an article by Sr Patty Andrew OSU, published in Catholic Outlook, the publication of the Diocese of Parramatta.