Australian News - July., 2005
Grave Matters - by Br Mark Ryan
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fifteen or so feet to the left is a sports field. Not quite Foxtel but a bit of life around the place at weekends.

Tuesday 12th Bathurst and Orange were the targets. An overnight trip.

A visit to the Tourist Bureau at Bathurst had  I was soon at the Cemetery. Although I had all the row and plot references I became confused. The cemetery workmen came to my aid.  We located the section where lots of Mercy Sisters are buried. It reminded me  of those War Graves where all the plots are the same in rows with geometric precision.  There in the midst I noted were two headstones slightly taller than the others. You guessed it: Aloysius O’Leary and  Louis Hunt were surrounded in death by scores of devout women. The headstones are in perfect condition and quite legible.

I arrived at the Orange cemetery just prior to lunch.  Again I was unable to find the graves so I went to Croagh Patrick [Patrician novitiate 1914 to 1927], took some photos and had lunch.

On returning to the cemetery I was fortunate once more in enlisting the aid of the groundsmen  who were extremely helpful and whose local knowledge extensive. Three Brothers here: Cuthbert Corbishley, Regis Hickey and Stanislaus Meagher.  There are three Mercy Sisters buried close by. The nuns’ headstones and two of the Brothers’, Hickey and Corbishley, have identical modern metal plaques of the type found in lawn cemeteries.  One cannot escape the conclusion  that the Mercy Sisters, both here in Orange and at Bathurst, have taken it upon themselves to look after the upkeep of these graves. There is surely a great blessing on this charity. [Meagher's gravestone is the large stone in the background.]

I have feelings of thankfulness in being able to have made this pilgrimage and in some small way to share in the lives of these men and to pray at their graves. The experience is a very rich one that I will carry with me for some time.  It was mentioned to me that I must now write down the directions so that others can follow the trail.

There  are  Brothers  buried  also  in AlburyWagga  and  Armidale.  Gerry



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