Sr Carmel Hinkley Farewell Mass – 24 September 2026
Intro: 1. The Mercy Speech from the Merchant of Venice. 2. Hesed – a Hebrew word for Mercy which occurs 250 times in the Old Testament – abiding solidarity (or steadfast love) and as in the Mercy Speech Hesed it is an attribute of God.
There is something wonderfully appropriate about farewelling Sister Carmel on the Feast of Our Lady of Mercy. For thirty-two years, Carmel has been part of the life of the Church in Tasmania. And today the Word of God gives us a quite simple way of understanding those years.
Isaiah tells us what God desires: “to break unjust fetters… to let the oppressed go free… to share your bread with the hungry, and to shelter the homeless poor.” Jesus in the Gospel makes it even simpler: “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
That is mercy.
Mercy is not simply feeling sorry for somebody. Mercy rolls up sleeves. Mercy notices the person who might otherwise be overlooked. Mercy asks, “How can I help?”
Catherine McAuley understood that. She founded the Sisters of Mercy because she recognised Christ in people who needed education, dignity, and hope. Sr Carmel has been a true daughter of Catherine.
Indeed, Sr Carmel once declined the opportunity to minister in Melbourne. She was a country girl and had been happy serving in country Victoria. So, her superiors found a different yet obvious solution: send her across Bass Strait to Bridgewater and so the “frontier Sister” arrived here at St Paul’s.
Since then, Sr Carmel seems to have held almost every possible position in the school, including Principal. Perhaps there are one or two jobs she missed, but I suspect that was only because nobody thought to ask her. Her ministry has also reached into New Norfolk parish and the wider life of our Archdiocese as a wonderful pastoral carer and outreach person who has built bridges and shown love to so many in need. She has lived Mercy, Hesed, abiding solidarity.
There is something particularly beautiful in the fact that the present Principal at New Norfolk was taught by Sr Carmel, later worked alongside her, and eventually employed her. Talk about the Lion King’s circle of life! There is a whole philosophy of Catholic education in that story. A teacher never quite knows where the encouragement given to a child might lead.
Isaiah promises that when we give ourselves to others, “your light will shine in the darkness.” It is quite obvious that many people here today could say that Sr Carmel has been such a light.
And Sr Carmel leaves Tasmania with another distinction. She recently observed that, for the first time in her life, she is older than the Pope — by two months. She is also, for the first time, older than the Archbishop. And when she returns to Victoria, she will discover that she is older than her new bishop as well!
Carmel, enjoy it. Seniority has finally arrived!
There is another changing of the guard. As Sr Carmel returns to her origins in the Diocese of Ballarat and settles into life by the sea in Warrnambool, her second cousin arrives in Tasmania as coach of the Devils. One Hinkley leaves the island just as another arrives. We will be reminded of you often!
But beyond this little bit of mirth is gratitude.
Sr Carmel, you came here as a frontier Sister. You leave as a much-loved part of the story in this place.
Thank you for the children you have taught, the families you have accompanied, and the people in whom you have recognised the face of Christ.
May Our Lady of Mercy watch over you. May Catherine McAuley continue to inspire you. And when you look across the sea from Warrnambool, remember that on the other side of Bass Strait there is an island with people who thank God that, forty three years ago, a country girl from Victoria said:
“Here I am, Lord.”
Most Rev. Anthony J. Ireland
Archbishop of Hobart
24 September 2026