A Priceless Treasure

by Marie Crowley

Book cover: A Priceless Treasure

Extent: 168 pages

Publisher: ATF Press

Subjects: Religious Studies

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(January 2017)

ISBN: 9781925486711

5.94 x 9.09 inches

Price: $22.95

In stock

Hardback (Published)

(January 2017)

ISBN: 9781925486728

5.94 x 9.09 inches

Price: $31.95

In stock

PDF (Published)

(January 2017)

ISBN: 9781925486759

Price: $22.95

This biography traces the life of Sister Teresa McDonald (1838 to 1876), a founding member of the Sisters of St Joseph and leader of the first Josephite foundation in New South Wales. It explores her early life, her leadership within the Congregation in South Australia, and her final years at The Vale, where she faced declining health before her death in 1876.


In July 1872 three Sisters of St Joseph and one lay woman arrived at The Vale, a village near Bathurst, New South Wales. They had come from Adelaide in response to an invitation from the Catholic bishop of Bathurst to establish a foundation of the newly founded Congregation in his diocese–the first Josephite foundation in New South Wales. Sister Teresa McDonald was the leader or Superior of the founding community. Born in Scotland in 1838, she had come to Australia with her parents finally settling in Adelaide. A friend of both Father Julian Tenison Woods and Mother Mary MacKillop, she joined the Sisters of St Joseph in 1867. This book explores her early life and her time as a Sister of St Joseph in Adelaide where she served as the first Provincial of the Congregation in South Australia. It also gives particular attention to Teresa’s short years at The Vale, her struggle with ill health and her death in January 1876.

  • By (author) Marie Crowley