Ellen O'Doherty

Ellen O'Doherty (1894–1983), known by her religious name as Sister Mary Alphonsus, was an Australian religious who became the superior general of the Sisters of Charity of Australia. She was a skilled nurse and hospital administrator, and worked in many of the order's hospitals, contributing to the growth and successful operations of these facilities.

Early life Born on 8 February 1894 in South Yarrawonga, Victoria, Australia, Ellen O'Doherty was the daughter of Joseph and Agnes Dorherty. Her father was born in Ireland, and was a schoolteacher. Her mother was born in Victoria. Ellen was the oldest of their nine children.

Religious life In 1924, O'Doherty joined the Sisters of Charity of Australia. The Religious Sisters of Charity is a religious order founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland in 1816. The Australian congregation was established in 1838, and became independent of the Irish congregation in 1842. The sisters focus on education and the care of the ill.

Taking on the religious name of Sister Mary Alphonsus, O'Doherty professed her final vows in 1927. She trained in nursing, and served as a nurse in the order's hospitals in Lismore, Toowoomba, Darlinghurst, and then Bathurst, from 1924 to 1932. She also purchased property in Wahroonga, New South Wales, for a new novitiate, to accommodate increasing numbers of women seeking to join the order.

O'Doherty travelled to Rome in 1952 for an international gathering of superiors general of Roman Catholic religious orders for women. The superiors were encouraged to think about how their founders would be responding the needs to the world today. Upon her return, she implemented some changes in standards, changed the constitution, and eased out some of the older customs. These changes met with resistance from within her congregation. The hospital also opened a new unit for open heart surgery and cardiovascular diagnostics, among other improvements. O'Doherty managed the building projects and finances.

In 1969, O'Doherty traveled to Tasmania, where she became the rectress at the hospital in Launceston. She worked there from 1969 to 1974, and stayed on at the Tasmanian convent for another four years. In 1978, she returned to the order's convent in Melbourne, where she lived her last years.

She died in Fitzroy on 11 August 1983, and is buried in Melbourne.