On 9 October 1897, the first five Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions arrived in Western Australia. The Sisters lived in Vincent Street and by 25 October 1897, they had already set up classes in a corrugated iron building in the current location of Sacred Heart Highgate. Sister Genevieve was one of these five founding sisters. She held the Office of Vicar Provincial (1903-1906), before returning to New Zealand to become the Superior of Christchurch and then becoming the Australian Provincial Superior in 1915. She continued in key roles in the Order until her death in 1938.

Saint John Baptist de La Salle was born to a wealthy family in 1651 in Reims, France. From the age of eleven, he knew he would become a priest. At the age of eighteen, he received a Master’s degree in classical literature and arts, as well as philosophy. He was ordained to the priesthood when he was 26. Saint John Baptist was revolutionary in that he was one of the first people to recognise the need to train teachers and also the importance of providing an education to those who could not afford it. He became the patron saint of all educators.

Saint Francisco Marto was born in 1908 in Aljustrel, Portugal. Francisco was with his sister Jacinta and his cousin Lucia when they witnessed the three visits of the Angel of Peace in 1916 and the apparitions of Mary in 1917. His cousin Lucia wrote in her memoirs that Francisco had a placid disposition, was somewhat musically inclined, and liked to be by himself to think. Following their experiences, Francisco continued to like to pray alone. Francisco died in 1919 at eleven years old, due to pneumonia caused by contracting the Spanish flu.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe was born in 1894 in Poland and he became a Franciscan Friar. By the age of 28, he had acquired two doctorates in theology and philosophy. He founded monasteries in India and Japan and was known for promoting Mary throughout Poland. Saint Maximilian had to return to Poland due to ill health and when Germany invaded, he was active in helping those being persecuted. He died in Auschwitz on August 14, 1941, after volunteering to take the place of another man who had a family.