Historical information

At graduation, nurses were presented with the St Vincent's Hospital badge by a Sister of Charity Superior or Mother Rectress. The badge certified that nurses could now practice as a qualified nursing sister.

Physical description

Two coloured blue lapel badge with attached gold safety chain and pin.

Inscriptions & markings

The St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne Nurses' Graduation Badge has an outer darker blue border with "Caritas Christi Urget Nos" written in gold on the bottom. The meaning is "The love of Christ urges us on". Within, there is the Crown of Mary, or Our Lady, the Patroness for the Sisters of Charity. There is a lighter blue banner containing the Heart of Charity, the Anchor of Hope and the Cross of Faith, all the symbols of nurses working under the guidance of the Sisters of Charity. There are script engraved letters on the back of the badge with the letters "AMC".