Anna Nicholls

PhD Candidate in Religious Studies

Supervisors: Sara Rahmani and Geoff Troughton

The Changing Face of Catherine McAuley in Aotearoa New Zealand

Within Mercy ministries in Aotearoa New Zealand, how have representations of Catherine McAuley’s person and story changed over time? Catherine McAuley has become a more decisively important figure within the organisation over the past sixty years and one whose description is increasingly malleable. Elements of McAuley’s story are filtered to inspire the contemporary Mercy audience, which is no longer largely Sisters of Mercy but now comprises of women, men and children from diverse faith traditions, cultures, and social backgrounds. This thesis will reveal how the narration of a religious character has been reconceptualised in the context of religious change, Vatican II, organisation changes, secularisation and Aotearoa New Zealand.