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The Passing of Sr.
Mercedes was not only the passing of a very influential person but also
a landmark passing of time and an era. Her presence, her influence, her
care and diligence was experienced by thousands of students who passed
through St. Peter's college over her 25 years. |
She began
her life in 1924 in Milfred, Loughlinbridge, Co. Carlow.
This was the era of the founding of the new State in Ireland.
An Ireland in poverty and trying to heal the wounds of civil strife.
She lived through the economic depression as a young girl. With her
family of seven others she had great memories of childhood, regardless
of the economic poverty. But her father's death, while she was still
very young, left a great gap in her life. But she claimed it gave her an
understanding of suffering for her work later in life.
Her great desire, even at an early age, was to seek God and all that it
was to entail for her for the future. She entered The St. John God
Convent in Wexford on 15th August 1937.
The formation in those times was very austere, where the test of
spirituality was measured by how much one could endure.
This was made even harder by the outbreak of World War II. |
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Having been professed as a Sister, she was assigned to Dr. Furlong's
Nursing Home in Wexford, which had a maternity unit. She was to meet
many a baby as a rowdy teenager later on in St. Peter's.
But, from her time at Dr. Furlong's she made lifelong friends and even
up to her passing some were still calling to see her as they advanced in
age as well.
She arrived
in St. Peter's College in 1964 and there she was to spend the next 25
years.
There she took on the main body of her life's work. She became mother,
friend, confidant, nurse and sometimes dean if the situation warranted
it, to the countless young
people who passed through Peter's, having a great
influence on their lives forever. There is many a man today who is
grateful that Sr. Mercedes was there for him at the most vulnerable of
times.
Her work
didn't stop there. She took on the task of make-up, and wardrobe
supplier for operas and plays - such was her commitment to her work.
Every student, teacher, parent and worker have their own story to tell
about Sr. Mercedes because she was the very fabric of that school and
the lives of so many people.
When she left St. Peter's in 1989 she was assigned to Edenderry. Here
again she took up the task of helping people who lived on the margins of
society. Again her dedication to the youth and to their parents in some
very painful circumstances has left a great legacy in Edenderry.
I was very privileged to assist her spiritually when she returned to
Wexford, I spent many a long conversation with her and I grew to
understand what a great journey people like Mercedes had made through
their lives from animal propelled machinery to mobile phone and
satellite disc. I got to know her in a way that was an honour.
To the end she kept up her gardening through having plants in her room.
She kept up a lively interest in all past pupils and knew where they
were working and living. In her final months when she could barely leave
her room she marvelled at how blessed her life had been, and confidently
entrusted herself and her life to the Eternal God whom she knew she was
approaching.
May that same God give her eternal peace.
Sr.
Mercedes (1919-2004)
The
autumn leaves were falling
In the year of '63
As we set foot in Peter's
To begin our odyssey
We met so many faces
As we strode this hallowed ground
But above them all stood one
Whose influence was profound
You were the Christ incarnate
Your acts spoke loud and true
And though no words were spoken
I think we loved you too
You cared for us in the morning
And at the setting of the sun
While others' Labours finished
Your work was never done
You did simple acts of kindness
In an unpretentious way
A pebble on a pond
The effects still felt today
As we look through the mists of time
We decipher through the pain
The
outline of a life sublime
Shall we see your like again
Perhaps our sense of loss
Will, in time, subside
But your footprints will survive
Untouched by any tide
God rest you dear Mercedes
May your spirit be at rest
Look over us, as always,
You were simply 'the best'
(With a deep sense of loss and gratitude)
- Martin Colfer
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