Eileen O'Connor: a saint with a phone

A modern saint

"The first thing people would see, when visiting after [Eileen O'Connor] died, was the telephone by her bed. They'd say, ‘Oh she's a modern saint. She's got a telephone. None of the saints that we ever read about had these had any of these modern appliances.’"

Eileen's bed with the telephone she used to coordinate the business of Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor

William Perrottet knew Eileen when he was a child. Interviewed seventy-one years after her death, he still had warm memories to tell. Not just of her startling modernity, but of the way she was revered by people. His own mother routinely collected soil Eileen had sat upon, and took it home as a relic.

Eileen O’Connor’s personality, deep spirituality and compassionate love for her fellow humans touched the hearts of those who knew her and offers inspiration to us now.

Her work transformed the lives of patients and their families by providing free, benevolent nursing care that was otherwise not available in Sydney’s slums. The poverty-stricken and hungry were never turned away unfed. And then, during the Spanish flu, the wider community saw the masked young women risking their lives to aid the afflicted. All the while, Eileen herself was desperately ill, in pain and partially paralysed.

A century after her death, Eileen is still cherished in the communities around Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor, based in Coogee, and its regional branches, and by people around the world who have come to know of her. There’s something about her that can comfort and inspire us all.

Photo of Eileen in a wheelchair from https://eileenoconnor.com.au/eileens-story/