Suzanne Aubert
| Suzanne Aubert | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 19 June 1835 St Symphorien-de-Lay, France |
| Died |
1 October 1926 (aged 91) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Nationality | French |
| Other names | Sister Mary Joseph · Mother Aubert |
| Occupation | Nun |
Suzanne Aubert (19 June 1835 – 1 October 1926), better known to many by her cleric name Sister Mary Joseph or Mother Aubert, was a Catholic sister who started a home for orphans and the under-privileged in Jerusalem, New Zealand on the Whanganui River in 1885. Aubert first came to New Zealand in 1860 and formed the Congregation of the Holy Family to educate Māori children. She founded a religious order, the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion in 1892. Aubert later started two hospitals in Wellington; the first, St Joseph's Home for the Incurables in 1900, and Our Lady's Home of Compassion in 1907.
Aubert devoted her life to helping others. Her work took her from France to Auckland then to Hawke’s Bay, to the Whanganui River and finally to Wellington. And along the way, she founded a new Catholic congregation, cared for children and the sick, by skilfully combining Māori medicine and Pākehā science, and wrote books in Māori, English and French adding significantly to a higher cultural understanding and literary heritage.
Aubert was actively engaged with the local Māori population and spoke Māori well. She wrote a book New and complete manual of Maori conversation : containing phrases and dialogues on a variety of useful and interesting topics : together with a few general rules of grammar : and a comprehensive vocabulary which was published in Wellington by Lyon and Blair in 1885.
The process for Suzanne Aubert's canonisation as a saint was commenced in 2010.
Through Aubert's life, she was undeterred by obstacles of lack of resources, and stood firm believing that everyone deserved equal respect. When Aubert was already in her eighties, she traveled to Rome where she gained permission to continue working for those who most needed her help – children and the sick. Determined and charismatic, Suzanne Aubert had a knack for making things happen, and remained steadfast in her belief in herself, the people she served and her God.
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