6 March 1932 – 16 December 2024

Sr. Lucia, baptised Margaret Mary and known to the family as Rita, was born in Callan, Co. Kilkenny, in March 1932. She was educated locally at the Convent of Mercy schools and then went to Dublin to Jervis Street Hospital, to train as a nurse.

Three years after qualifying as a nurse, Margaret Mary joined MMM in Drogheda. After her initial formation period she made first profession of vows, taking the name of Sr. M. Lucia. She then trained as a midwife and almost immediately assigned on her first overseas mission, to Tanzania. Sr. Lucia spent five years in Tanzania, nursing in both Dareda and Kabanga Hospitals. In Kabanga she also taught nursing and was the hospital Matron. From all accounts she was a gifted nurse and was known for her gentleness.

When she returned to Ireland in 1967, she had the opportunity to specialize in the nursing of sick children in Belfast and then she was assigned to Malawi in 1969.  Malawi was to be her main place of ministry for the next thirty-four years.

In Malawi, Sr. Lucia worked in three different locations. In St. John’s Hospital, Mzuzu, she did paediatric nursing, and, later, she taught midwifery and was Matron. She was a talented teacher, and it seemed to come naturally to her. In Nkhata Bay she practiced as a midwife, worked in the Child Welfare clinic and was also Matron. Later she was more involved in primary health care. In Chipini, her last long assignment in Malawi, she did mostly primary health care.

Sr. Lucia finally left Malawi in 2003. After a period of rest and renewal, she worked in Kilmacow, near Waterford where MMM ran a residence for the elderly. When this house closed in 2012, she returned to Drogheda where she had five more years of active retirement in the Motherhouse community before transferring to Aras Mhuire Nursing Home for extra care in 2017.

Sr. Lucia was a quiet, getle and compassionate person, deeply spiritual and totally unassuming.  She was especially fond of children and their parents.

Her death came peacefully on December 16th surrounded by family members and several Sisters.  She is buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Drogheda.