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Dame Mary Kate Barlow
President, Catholic Women’s Association (1916-1934)
 Chairwoman of the Catholic Women’s Association from 1914-16, and President
from 1916-34, Dame Mary Barlow was the driving, uniting force behind the establishment
and growth of the Catholic Women’s League.
Barlow had come to Australia from Ireland in 1884 for what was originally
intended as a short family visit. She was connected by both blood and marriage
to Sydney’s
close-knit Catholic “aristocracy” which was based on professional,
commercial and political success. It was from this group that the leaders of
such Catholic organisations as the committee of the Cathedral building fund,
St Vincent de Paul, the Knights of the Southern Cross and the nascent Catholic
Women’s Association were drawn.
Barlow perceived that the strength of the CWA would lie in its social activities,
mixed with a judicious proportion of “good works,” with everything
under the firm control of the Executive. She also knew how to court the
patronage of the Sydney clergy and hierarchy, without succumbing to them.
Guided by her
charm, authority and strength of purpose, the CWA survived the vicissitudes
of war, epidemic and financial crises.
In 1917, Barlow became the president of the CWA and was made Life-President
by Archbishop Kelly in September 1918, a move which gave her enormous
influence on the policy and direction of the CWA. When she died in 1934 she
had marked
the CWA indelibly with the stamp of her personality, insisting that it
never took any stand on political issues but sought to respond to the
social and
welfare needs of the local Catholic community.
Dame Mary was awarded the medal Bene Merenti in 1922 and the cross and
star of the Knightly Order of the Holy Sepulchre in 1929. She was renowned
for
her strong and effective leadership.
- The Catholic Women’s Association was reorganised as the Legion
of Catholic Women in November 1941.
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The Legion was renamed the Catholic Women’s League in December 1959.
Return to Significant Early
Pioneers in the Church in Sydney
Significant Pioneers in the Archdiocese
of Sydney
(Main page)
See also: A timeline of Catholicism
in Sydney
| Foundation dates of Sydney Parishes
The Previous Archbishops of the Archdiocese of Sydney
The Predecessor Auxiliary and Co-adjutor Archbishops
of the Archdiocese of Sydney
- Charles Henry Davis OSB, 1848-1854. Also
Titular Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle.
- Joseph Higgins, 1889. (Appointed Bishop
of Rockhampton 1889).
- Michael Sheehan, Co-adjutor Archbishop
1922-1937.
- Eris Norman Michael O'Brien, 1948-1953.
(Appointed Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn 1953.)
- Patrick Francis Lyons, 1950-1956. (Appointed
Co-adjutor Bishop Sale 1956. Bishop 1957-1967.)
- James Patrick Carroll, 1954-1965.
Retired 1984. Died 1995.
- James Darcy Cardinal Freeman, 1957-1969
- Thomas William Muldoon, 1960-1986.
- Edward Francis Kelly MSC, 1969-1975.
(Appointed Bishop
of Toowoomba 1975.)
- Edward Bede Cardinal Clancy AC, 1973-1978.
(Appointed Archbishop
of Canberra-Goulburn, 1978-1983.)
- Patrick Laurence Murphy,
1977-1986. (Appointed Bishop
of Broken Bay 1986. Retired)
- Bede Vincent Heather,
1979-1986. (Appointed Bishop
of Parramatta 1986. Retired)
- John Edward Heaps, 1981-1992.
Retired 1992. Died 2004.
- Peter William Ingham, 1993-2001. (Appointed
Bishop of
Wollongong 2001.)
- Geoffrey James Robinson,
1984-2004. Retired.
- David Cremin, 1974-2005. Retired.
See also:
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