It was not until 1948 that the Good Samaritan Sisters ventured overseas, receiving the call from Bishop Paul Yamaguchi of Nagasaki, Japan for assistance in rebuilding his diocese and for a teaching order to establish a school for girls. Despite the end of the war being so recent and memories often bitter, there was an overwhelming response to the call from many of the sisters. The first six sisters set sail from Sydney Harbour on the SS Changte… and the rest is our rich history.

I was fortunate to be selected to be one of the teachers from the Good Samaritan Colleges in Australia to attend an eight day immersion experience. The trip, short and sweet as it had to coincide with the inter-state teachers term break, was so valuable and enriching, with memories I will treasure for a very long time.

We started our journey in Sasebo, where the sisters first arrived in Japan. We visited the first convent they ministered in, mostly looking after war victims. In 1952 the sisters were asked to begin their work in the formal education system. They took over a school named Seibi, meaning Place of Beauty, and the sisters accepted students regardless of their religious affiliation and worked hard to form positive relationships with the broader Sasebo community. Their legacy at the school lives on, today it is known as Seiwa College – meaning Holy Peace – and is a beautiful all-girls school, much like our own. Attending the school for the day was one of the highlights for me. The school was very different to St Patrick's College in terms of it’s resources, not as many gadgets and technology, limited whiteboards, projectors and no BYOD to be seen, however, the girls very much the same - polite, respectful and full of life. The Year 12 leaders showed us around each classroom with pride, displaying genuine hospitality and love of Christ and neighbour. I found it very interesting how the school system works there, for example at Seiwa most students don’t get home until 5:30pm at night, after a 7 period day, one lunch break, compulsory clubs after school and then if they are so lucky – tutoring before or after dinner and then more study. 

At Seiwa, we were honourable guests at their whole school assembly, where the choir sang three beautiful songs and had a welcoming ceremony from the principal where we were presented with gifts to take back to our Colleges. Then we had the opportunity to be part of a special tea ceremony, a calligraphy class and delighted in traditional Japanese dancing.

Later that day, we also got to visit Our Lady of the Cherry Blossom Kindergarten. The sisters originally provided pastoral care and high quality education to the military families in 1952. Today, it is a thriving school and the young children’s band played two songs for us. They were the cutest little beans you have ever seen and so warm and welcoming of their visitors.  

Our final day was spent visiting the sisters in Nara and sharing in their wonderful journey. They told us the story of these brave young women who answered the call, lived in a foreign country, learned the language, and began to assist the people who became homeless from the 1953 typhoon, landslides and floods. In Nara, they worked tirelessly to assist to distribute food and clothing and fed many people who became homeless from the regular destruction. In 1964 they opened a novitiate and from then on many other significant projects were initiated and put into fruition such as the Asebi Centre which operated a library then led to English classes, conversation groups, Bible Studies and Christmas plays. They also established the first Meals on Wheels for the elderly. It was very special to speak to the sisters who were still living in their beautiful home and enjoy a meal with them. They even showed us around Nara, where we patted the deer and visited the Todaiji Temple with a 15m Buddha inside!

We were also fortunate to visit the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Memorial Museum, the Peace Park in Nagasaki, the Church of the 26 Japanese Martyrs, Glover Garden, Miyajima Island, Hiroshima Memorial Peace Museum and Park and numerous temples and shrines such as Kiyomizudera Temple.  I feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity to learn more about our Good Samaritan charism and experience Japanese culture and history. Our story is a very fruitful one and we can learn so much from the sisters who sacrificed leaving their home and comforts to enter another’s garden and make such a profound difference. 

Maria Boulatsakos - Teacher

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