Born: 1857, Ireland
Died: 28 November 1914
Country most active: South Africa
Also known as: Sister Mary Teresa
This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Sheila Lunney. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Cowley, Jane (Sister Mary Teresa) (1857–1914), Sister of Mercy, Boer war nurse, and educator, was born in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, daughter of John Cowley and Margaret Cowley (née Loughran). She entered the Convent of Mercy, Strabane, Co. Tyrone, on 2 February 1877, taking the religious name Sister Mary Teresa, and was professed 8 January 1880.
In response to an appeal from Dr Anthony Gaughran, bishop of Mafeking, five sisters led by Mother M. Teresa left Strabane in October 1897 for his mission in South Africa, arriving (February 1898) in Mafeking, where they opened their first school. In October 1899 war broke out and Mafeking was besieged; the convent was requisitioned by the military to serve as a hospital, and the sisters helped with the nursing of the wounded. They lived in a bomb-proof shelter for seven months. On 1 October 1901 Mother M. Teresa received from King Edward VII the decoration of the Royal Red Cross in recognition of her war nursing services.
The sisters established schools for the children of the area and on Sundays they travelled by train to outlying villages to conduct classes in religious instruction. The Sisters of Mercy were leaders in the campaign to admit all pupils to schools, irrespective of race, leading to the development of multi-racial schools. Convents and schools were opened in Vryburg, Braafontein, Mayfair, Pretoria, Minakau, Winterveladt, Soweto, and Orange Farm, and a retreat house in Natal. Mother M. Teresa Cowley died 28 November 1914.