Diocese_Of_Sandhurst_YearInReview_2021

55 IN MEMORY Sr Mary Batchelor fdnsc 15 November 1928 – 6 June 2021 Sr Mary Leonie Batchelor has left an indelible imprint on the minds of the people in Sandhurst despite never officially working in the Diocese. Raised in Cohuna, during the Great Depression and war years, Sr Mary was the youngest of ten children born into what her parish priest described as a ‘generous salt of the earth family.’ Three of Sr Mary’s brothers became priests and her sister, Jessie was also an OLSH Sister. Mary was apparently very proud of the contribution each of her siblings made to the Catholic faith, be they ordained, professed or lay. SrMarywas educated at StMary’s Primary School, Cohuna, and St Mary’s College Bendigo. She also spent some time at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Primary School in Elmore in her early primary school years. Sr Mary never doubted her calling to religious life and joined her sister Jessie at the OLSH Novitiate at Bowral in 1946, straight after finishing high school. She was professed in 1948. In 1950, after completing a Diploma of Teaching, Sr Mary started working as a teacher, first in New South Wales, then Victoria and later the Northern Territory. After over forty years of teaching in Australia, Sr Mary embarked on her next chapter as a missionary and departed for South Africa in 1989. She spent seven years working as a missionary at St Brendan’s, Dwars River in the Diocese of Tzaneen during South Africa’s apartheid and subsequent election of Nelson Mandela. Sr Mary Batchelor with Bishop Shane Mackinlay and Principal of Sacred Heart Primary School, Elmore, Liz Trewick. In 1995 the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart began a mission in the Diocese of Rumbek in South Sudan, and at age 67 Mary set off to war-torn South Sudan, where she served for 19 years. Life in South Sudan was challenging. Sr Mary and the other missionaries lived simply in bamboo huts without running water, sanitation or refrigeration. In 1966 Sr Mary, with other missionaries, was held captive by the Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Army for 11 days. After this traumatic experience the Order sent Sr Mary home to Australia to recuperate. During her ‘‘recuperation’’, Sr Mary visited schools and parishes across the Diocese of Sandhurst to raise awareness and support for mission projects in South Sudan. She continued to do this for many years whenever she was in Australia. One of the schools Sr Mary would visit was Sacred Heart Primary School in Elmore. Principal, Liz Trewick described Sr Mary as “awe-inspiring” and the reason behind the school’s annualMissionDaywhich raises funds for the OLSH Missions in South Sudan. Acknowledging Sr Mary’s ability to inspire, motivate and influence, the school recently named its staffroom after her. In January 2021, Sr Mary attended the Mass commemorating the 91 years of service and the enormous contribution of the OLSH sisters in the Elmore Community. At the age of 92, Sr Mary had never known the Diocese of Sandhurst without the OLSH Sisters, and had herself , served as a OLSH sister for over 74 years – a lifetime by anyone’s measure.