News & Events

"We will open our hearts to the cries of the poor using our energies, gifts and resources to address violence and discrimination especially for women and children..." (Chapter Statement)

The 2025 theme is: End digital violence against all women and girls. 

Click. Act. End It!

Each day during the campaign, ACRATH(Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking) invites us all to click the links on their calendar, take meaningful action, and help  put an end to human trafficking, modern slavery, and emerging challenges and trends such as digital violence.

Ypu can also join the conversation: #Click.Act.EndIt! #NoExcuse #ACTtoEndViolence #ACRATH.

The calendar and daily reflections can be accessed on the ACRATH website here

Shortly after 2.00 a.m. on Friday morning, 21 November, armed individuals entered the school grounds and forced their way into the dormitories. Students and staff were taken in darkness and confusion, leaving families and the wider community in profound shock. The Christian Association of Nigeria has confirmed that 315 members of the school community were abducted, including pupils from the primary and secondary schools as well as several teachers and staff.

Since the attack, at least 50 pupils have escaped and returned to their families. Their accounts have brought some relief amid the grief, yet approximately 253 children and 12 teachers remain missing. Local authorities, Church leadership, and community groups are working urgently, though cautiously, to secure their release. No group has formally claimed responsibility, and the situation remains unstable.

The impact on families and the wider community is immense. Parents have gathered in the parish compound and surrounding villages in vigil, waiting for word of their children. Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, clergy of the Diocese of Kontagora, and our own sisters in Nigeria continue to accompany families in these long hours of fear and uncertainty.

In her official press release, our Congregational Leader, Sr Mary T Barron, appeals for “prayers and spiritual solidarity from Religious Congregations, Catholic institutions, faith communities, and people of goodwill around the world.” She reminds us that while the situation is grave, our collective prayer carries strength, hope, and presence at a time when the community feels most vulnerable.

Her statement asks the global Church and all people of goodwill to hold the following intentions:

• For the safe and swift return of the children, students, and staff.
• For protection, strength, and consolation for families who wait in anguish.
• For safety and stability across the region, where communities continue to face growing insecurity.
• For a just end to violence, and for peace rooted in dignity, compassion, and the protection of the innocent.

Support has begun to emerge from across the world. Pope Leo has publicly appealed for the release of the abducted, noting that schools should be places of safety and learning. Interfaith leaders, including the Muslim Council of Elders, have condemned the attack outright and expressed solidarity with the affected families. These gestures point to a shared moral responsibility that transcends borders, faith traditions, and national boundaries.

As OLA Sisters, our mission is rooted in presence and accompaniment, especially in moments when hope feels strained. Our sisters in Nigeria remain close to the families, offering pastoral support, holding prayer gatherings, and keeping vigil with the community. Those of us elsewhere stand with them in spirit and prayer, trusting that God’s mercy and justice hold every one of these young lives.

For now, we ask you to join us in prayer. Hold these children gently in your heart. Remember the teachers who protected them and now find themselves among the abducted. Keep their families in your daily prayers. And pray for peace in a region where fear and instability have taken too much already.

May God protect the innocent, sustain those who wait in hope, and lead the captors toward justice and mercy. May every child and every staff member return home safely.

"We will enjoy and celebrate Earth’s beauty and bounty and her many species. We will honour our duty to love and care for her and add to her well-being wherever possible." (Chapter Statement)

CRA,  of which Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation is a member, lodged a submission to a Senate Inquiry into a package of bills that seek to reform the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

CRA expressed “deep concern” that the bills fall short of the reform of the act that is needed to properly protect and restore Australia’s diverse plants, animals and ecosystems, while acknowledging that some few components of the bills demonstrate positive changes to the act. 

• Read the complete article here
• Read the media release here

Every day about 2 thousand people in the world take their lives. It is the third leading cause of death among young people.In this context, we are invited to join our prayer with that of Pope Leo XIV: “that those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts might find the support, care and love they need in their community, and be open to the beauty of life.”

Post your prayer in our sacred space here