Figure 10 - Photograph of Sister Mary Canisius
Una Sarah Ann Whitton was born on the 14th of June, 1917 in Victoria. On the 2nd of July 1938, she joined the Sisters of the Good Samaritans, becoming Sister Mary Canisius. Due to her experience in nursing, she then started working at the infirmary at St Scholastica’s Convent Glebe. When Bishop Yamaguchi requested for priests and sisters to aid the bomb victims in Nagasaki, Sister Mary Canisius was one of the first to answer his appeal.
Sister Mary Canisius’ nursing abilities became of great use in Nagasaki; as she eventually entered in the position of assisting Sister M. John Constable in founding a hospital for the victims of the bombing. They worked with both Japanese doctors and Americans from the Atomic Bomb Centre, providing medical help and teaching at local schools. Sister Marie Canisius became Superior at the Covenant at Nara after almost four years in Nagasaki. She later travelled to Sasebo and worked with kindergarten schools.
Helping in Nagasaki had a long term effect on Sister Canisius, as she became ill due to contamination of radiation left behind from the bomb. In 1963, Sister Canisius travelled back to Australia for a major operation and, due to her poor health, was unable to return to Nagasaki. She taught at Unanderra near Wollongong and was later appointed Superior at Coffs Harbour in 1971. Tragically, she died from cancer on the 12th of June 1971 at age 54 and was buried at Northern Suburbs Cemetery.
Sister Mary Canisius’ nursing abilities became of great use in Nagasaki; as she eventually entered in the position of assisting Sister M. John Constable in founding a hospital for the victims of the bombing. They worked with both Japanese doctors and Americans from the Atomic Bomb Centre, providing medical help and teaching at local schools. Sister Marie Canisius became Superior at the Covenant at Nara after almost four years in Nagasaki. She later travelled to Sasebo and worked with kindergarten schools.
Helping in Nagasaki had a long term effect on Sister Canisius, as she became ill due to contamination of radiation left behind from the bomb. In 1963, Sister Canisius travelled back to Australia for a major operation and, due to her poor health, was unable to return to Nagasaki. She taught at Unanderra near Wollongong and was later appointed Superior at Coffs Harbour in 1971. Tragically, she died from cancer on the 12th of June 1971 at age 54 and was buried at Northern Suburbs Cemetery.