2025 VENERABLE MARY AIKENHEAD ORATION
From Dublin to Digital: Mary Aikenhead’s Vision in the AI Era
Maggie Doherty’s delivery of the 2025 Oration made for a memorable evening - insightful, engaging, and full of rich reflection.
The 2025 Oration explored how Venerable Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Sisters of Charity, might respond to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation, particularly in the fields of healthcare, education, social services, aged care, and prison ministry — areas where her mission remains deeply influential today.
Maggie argued that Venerable Mary Aikenhead would likely embrace modern technologies such as telemedicine, virtual reality, and AI, so long as they upheld human dignity and enhanced the quality of care — not replace the human relationships at the heart of healing and learning.
She would challenge us to wrestle with and address the ethical complexities we face with AI, including the potential for exclusion, misuse of personal data, and loss of human connection. Guided by the motto “Caritas Christi Urget Nos”(The love of Christ compels us), Mary would evaluate every innovation by its impact on the vulnerable and insist that mission lead innovation, never the reverse.
Examples from Australia, New Zealand, and the UK illustrated how digital systems can embody Mary’s vision and values: care that is connected, compassionate, and inclusive.
We are grateful to The University of Notre Dame Australia for co-sponsoring this valuable formation initiative with Mary Aikenhead Ministries, and to the Australian Catholic University for graciously hosting the event.
Our sincere thanks to Maggie for delivering such a compelling and visionary Oration. Maggie’s insights invited us to reflect deeply on how we carry the mission of Mary Aikenhead and the Sisters of Charity forward in the digital age — with courage, compassion, and conscience.
