Sister Gen – mother to the boys of St John’s

Sydney
11 November 2001

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Sister Gen – mother to the boys of St John’s

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Sister Gen – mother to the boys of St John’s

Sr Genevieve Cummins ... mother of St John’s Boys Home

A remarkable 68 years of religious life as a professed Sister of Mercy of the Goulburn Congregation came to an end at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital on July 15, 2001 with the death of Sr Genevieve Cummins.

Sr Genevieve (Eileen) was born at Murringo on February 12, 1906, to Daniel and Sarah Cummins (nee Cahill).

She had four brothers, Edward, Daniel, William and James, and one sister Margaret (Mrs H Fowler), all of whom predeceased her.

Five nephews and three nieces survive her.

On August 15, 1930, she entered St Michael’s Novitiate in Goulburn to join the Mercy Order and to begin a lifetime of service which included teaching at schools in Galong, Murringo, Cootamundra, Jerilderie and Grenfell and 28 years of care and education of hundreds of boys – either orphans or victims of broken homes – at

St John’s Boy’s Home, Goulburn.

Sister Gen or Mother Gen, as she was affectionately known, was devoted to the boys of St John’s who found in her the mother that circumstances denied them.

Although a great part of her time was taken up with their care and education she encouraged the boys to participate in sport, hearty Irish folklore, music, song and dance.

The large number of old boys at her Requiem was an eloquent testimony to the regard in which she was held.

Gen spent 28 years at St John’s with her boys, who knew her as a dinkum Aussie Mother in the service of the Gospel which Gen genuinely lived.

Mother Gen was truly ‘Good News to one and all’.

Gen and the sisters made St John’s a true home for us, carrying on the tradition of Mother Ligouri Vale.

Gen was known for her depth of love and understanding, her firm hope and Christian joy. These gifts of mind, spirit and heart, in essence the gold of faith, hope and love mined from Gen’s faithful vowed life of poverty, chastity and obedience we have all experienced in different personal ways.

In my own case, there is Gen’s “Gum leaves” greeting card on my 49th Ordination anniversary.

Faithfully Gen sent one every year.

And Archbishop Francis Carroll’s congratulatory letter marking Gen’s Diamond Jubilee of religious profession in 1993 celebrated in Goulburn with Mass and a Reunion luncheon:

“Sixty years of Religious life is a remarkable achievement. I join with you in thanking God for the gift he gave you in your vocation and in the rich blessings of those long years.

“I also join with your many friends and admirers who thank you for your generous response to God’s gifts in living out your consecrated life in your devoted service of the young and needy.

“Your ‘boys’ of St John’s will be the first to show their appreciation for your special love and care for so many when they most needed a home and place to belong.

“I hope you will have a wonderful reunion with those who have known you truly as a Sister of Mercy.”

Sr Gen was a happy person with a broad smile who gained great reward and joy from keeping in touch with her nieces and nephews, the boys of St John’s and their extended families.

Her attendance at re-unions, weddings etc, her letters and her phone calls will be greatly missed.

Her early retirement was spent at St Lawrence’s Hostel, Galong, where she was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List (1981) for services to the community.

Since 1988 Sr Gen had been a member of Mount St Joseph’s Convent Community at Young where she will be sadly missed by her fellow Sisters of Mercy.

The whole community and staff were present at the funeral and involved in the liturgy at St Mary’s Church, which was full for the occasion.

Requiem Mass was celebrated at St Mary’s Church, Young, on July 18, by Fr Geoff Lloyd, an old boy of St John’s, assisted by concelebrants Bishop Pat Power, Mons J M Hoare VG, Fr L Blake, Fr M Markowicz, Fr Peter Ryan, Fr Stan Sniezek .

Later Sr Genevieve’s body, borne to the hearse and grave by her family and her boys, was laid to rest in the Young Lawn Cemetery.

This obituary is adapted from Fr Geoff Lloyd’s homily at Sr Genevieve’s funeral.