FRANCISCAN MISSIONARY SISTERS FOR AFRICA

Sr. Agnes Mary Lynch

Sr. Agnes Mary with Friends

Sr. Agnes Mary Lynch celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Religious Profession at Mount Oliver, Dundalk in Ireland on 6th June 2009. Many friends of Sr. Agnes Mary joined the Franciscan Sisters for a truly joyful Mass at which Fr. Delahunty was the main celebrant. The readings recounted the Call of Jeremiah and the Beatitudes - True Happiness. The music for the occasion was enhanced by the beautiful violin playing of Yvonne Donnelly.

Enjoying a chat Everyone gathered in the dining room for a lovely meal, the cutting of the Jubilee cake and Sr. Agnes Mary was presented with the Papal Blessing by Sr. Miriam. I could say a lot about the great day, but I would rather say something about the great woman.

Sr. Agnes Mary was born in Borisoleigh in the County of Tipperary, Ireland. She joined the Franciscan Sisters in 1946 and made her first Profession in 1949. Her aunt, Sr. Alexis was one of the pioneering group of Sisters who went to Uganda in 1903. So, you could say, she followed in the footsteps of a family trail blazer.

Sr. Patricia welcomes guests

Many of us could only dream of the range of places which Sr. Agnes Mary has called ‘home’ over her missionary life - Holme-on-Spalding Moor in England, Dundalk in Ireland, Palissa, Kavule, Kikajja, Nyenga, Dabani, Budaka and Nsymbya, in Uganda, Cedarville in South Africa, Amakura, Nyabondo, Kanzalu, Mangu, Muthale and Nakuru in Kenya. As a Nurse and Midwife, Sr. Agnes Mary helped many grateful mothers bring their children into this world and tended the sick wherever they were to be found - in their homes, in clinics, on ‘safari’ into remote districts and in hospitals.

In welcoming Sr. Agnes Mary’s guests, Sr. Patricia McConvey referred specially to Sr. Agnes Mary’s heart-warming smile and good humour. This gentle, compassionate and generous woman is welcomed everywhere, for in truth she somehow manages to be everywhere, sharing times of sorrow and times of joy. Language has never been a barrier. I never did figure out what language Sr. Agnes Mary spoke in Africa, but somehow she was able to communicate with peoples of all tribes, tongues, peoples and nations.

Cutting Jubilee Cake

Sr. Miriam reads Papal Blessing

Now a Diamond Jubilarian, Sr. Agnes Mary resides in our Motherhouse at Mount Oliver, Dundalk where she is still caring for folk. She spends long hours with our sick and dying sisters - day or night, it doesn’t matter. Yet whenever one drops into Mount Oliver, she is there with a welcoming smile to share a chat and a cuppa. I guess she is one of those women who knows what it means to be a ‘Companion on the Journey’.

Avril Reynolds FMSA

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