A recent program screened on ABC TV showed an 87-year-old Melbourne nun, confined in a cage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was protesting the detention of refugees by Australian authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was all in a day\u2019s work for Sister Brigid Arthur \u2013 one more example of her determination to stand up on questions of social justice. For nearly seven decades, this remarkable woman has dedicated her life in support of the disadvantaged, as a member of a congregation in the Catholic Church \u2013 the Brigidine Sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Order was founded in honour of another Brigid \u2013 a fifth-century Irish saint, known as Brigid of Kildare. It was established in Ireland in 1807 and came to Australia in 1883.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1953, at the age of 19, Brigid Arthur joined the Order and, following in the footsteps of her famous namesake, pledged her life to the service of others. That promise has remained in place to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sister Brigid, who formerly sat on the board of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, is a key member of the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project, providing practical support to refugees and asylum seekers in need of housing and employment.
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She has served as a litigation guardian for asylum seekers, young Indigenous people and youthful climate activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n