Mother Mary Xavier Dooley (19 June 1858 – 4 July 1929) was born Eliza Dooley in

Forth, Tasmania Forth is a small village in north-west Tasmania on the Forth River, west of Devonport and north-west of Launceston via the Bass Highway. It is mainly in the Central Coast Council area, but with just under 25% in the City of Devonport. For ...

, Australia. She was professed as a Sister of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1883. In 1911, she became the first

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places *Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lake ...

of the amalgamated

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and Launceston Presentation Congregations. She died in Launceston, Tasmania.

Early life

Eliza Dooley was the second daughter of the late Alice and

James Monaghan Dooley James Monaghan Dooley (1822–1891) was an Australian politician from 1 October 1872 until his death on 5 February 1891. James Monaghan Dooley was born in County Tipperary, Ireland. He came from a farming background, however he trained in Dub ...

, of Latrobe. Eliza spent several years as a boarder at the Presentation Convent, Hobart.

Religious life

In 1880 she entered the

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the Presentation Convent in Hobart; and in 1881 her Superior, Mother Xavier Murphy, sent her to Launceston. In the following year she was received as a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession A profession is a field of work that has ...

, and in 1883 she made her religious profession in the Church of the Apostles. The popularity of the Convent Schools incited jealously in those who were afraid of their success. In the ''Launceston Examiner'', 17 June 1887, Reverend Charles Price of the Tamar Street

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

penned a slanderous letter about the Convent. This led the Convent to file criminal application against Price for defamatory libel. Price withdraw his imputation and the case was dismissed. In 1896 Mother Xavier Dooley was chosen, along with Mother Bernard Moore, to open St. Columba's School in Launceston. Dooley taught there until 1906, when she was elected Superior of the Launceston Presentation community. She was re-elected in 1909 for another three years. During this time it was proposed that the Hobart community would join with the Launceston community, with one Superior for a Tasmanian Congregation. Launceston was recognized as the Mother House with the Novitiate, and Hobart was to be a filial formation. Dooley as Superior in Launceston automatically became Superior of the first amalgamated Tasmanian Congregation. This change came into effect in 1911. After leaving the role of Superior, Dooley went back to St. Columba's School for a few years, and in 1923 she was transferred to St. Mary's School, where she worked until her death in 1929.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Mary Xavier 19th-century Australian Roman Catholic nuns 1858 births 1929 deaths Presentation Sisters 20th-century Australian Roman Catholic nuns