Austin Carroll facts for kids
Mother Mary Teresa Austin Carroll (born Margaret Anne Carroll; 1835–1909) was an amazing Irish nun and writer. She moved to the United States and helped start more than 20 convents. A convent is a place where nuns live and work together, often helping their communities.
Her Life Story
Early Life in Ireland
Margaret Anne Carroll was born in Clonmel, Ireland, on February 23, 1835. Her parents were William and Margaret Strahan Carroll. She had eight brothers and sisters. Margaret went to school at Clonmel National Model School. In 1853, when she was 18, she joined the Convent of St Maries of the Isle in Cork. The next year, she took the name Sister Mary Teresa Austin. Two years later, she made her first promises as a nun.
Building Convents and Writing
Sister Mary Teresa Austin helped set up new convents in many places. These included Buffalo and Rochester in New York, and Omaha. She worked with another important nun, Mother Mary Frances Xavier Warde.
Mother Austin then went on to establish many more convents on her own. She started them in places like New Orleans (in 1869), Biloxi, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and even Belize. By 1895, she was in Selma, Alabama. She founded more than 20 convents across the U.S.
Besides her work as a leader in these convents, Mother Austin was also a talented writer. She wrote for many magazines, including The American Catholic Quarterly Review and Catholic World. She also wrote many books. Some of her books were stories for children, like Happy hours of childhood and Angel-dreams. She also wrote historical plays and books about the lives of saints.
Mother Austin went through several serious sicknesses during her life. Even though she spent time in Europe, most of her writing happened in the U.S. The schools she attended and helped create were very important to her.
Later Years
Mother Mary Teresa Austin Carroll passed away on November 29, 1909. She had suffered from a series of strokes. Her work helped many communities and left a lasting impact through the convents she founded and the books she wrote.
