Mother Teresa Cowley was Superior of the Strabane (Co Tyrone, Ireland) foundation, before leading a party of nine to Maefeking, Bechuanaland, South Africa, in 1897. The Catholic Church’s first ecclesiastical vicariate was established in 1886 and extended from Bechuanaland in the north of Basutoland to the south, taking in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal republics—an area the size of Ireland. The Bishop invited the Sisters of Mercy to the most northern part, the little border town of Mafeking. Five of the nine women were professed Sisters of Mercy from Strabane. South Africa was rapidly developing following the discoveries of gold and diamonds. There was both prosperity and extreme poverty. Education was a distinct need.

Jane Cowley was born in 1852 in the parish of Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, Ireland. At age 25, she entered the community of Strabane, which had close links with the motherhouse on Baggot Street, the short line being Tullamore, Kells, Navan, and Strabane.

Teresa, a teacher, devoted herself to caring for young orphan children. After twenty years in Strabane, she became a missionary, leading the Sisters of Mercy to South Africa. 

Like Catherine, Teresa led by example.  The Sisters in South Africa initiated a variety of spiritual and corporal missionary projects in the spirit of Catherine McAuley.

They demonstrated great flexibility and adaptability, including tending wounded soldiers during the Boer War.

The foundation faced some opposition in South Africa. The Strabane Foundation had just 22 members, and sending five experienced and accomplished sisters to a new foundation in a distant region would have been extremely difficult. Teresa is known for her exceptional leadership qualities and as a woman of wisdom, simplicity, gentleness, courage, and strong will. 

When the Boer War broke out, Teresa and her sisters chose to stay in Mafeking rather than go to a safer area. These teachers transformed overnight into nurses, caring for wounded warriors.

That spirit would define the group, and what Teresa and her companions established in 1897 would grow into the Johannesburg Congregation of Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters of South Africa joined the Congregation in 1994. 

“Our Story”, Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, accessed 4 May 2024. https://sistersofmercy.ie/provinces/south-africa/our-story/

“History Of The Sisters Of Mercy In South Africa”, Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, 16/09/2016, modified 16/01/202, accessed 4 May 2024.  https://sistersofmercy.ie/document/history-of-the-sisters-of-mercy-in-south-africa/