Margaret Kennedy fcJ died suddenly on 13 March while she was holidaying at Sorrento. She was in her ninetieth year and had given seventy years of service to education as an FCJ Sister.
On returning to Australia from England in 1952 as a finally professed FCJ with an honours degree in French and English from the National University of Ireland, Margaret was missioned to teach at FCJ College Benalla. She was also appointed Mistress of the Boarders, a position she held for fifteen years, followed by five years as College Principal. In 1973 she returned to Melbourne as Regional Superior for the FCJ Sisters in Australia. During this time she represented the Major Superiors on several educational bodies including The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria (CECV) and the Grants Allocation Committee to name just two.
When her term of office finished she was missioned to Paris as the Superior of the Community where the FCJ Foundress, Marie-Madeleine d'Houët died. She loved living in Paris and welcomed many Australian visitors. As well she had the opportunity to do some informal courses at the Pompidou Centre with its vast library and the largest collection of modern art in Europe.
After just three years in Paris Margaret Mary returned to Australia and was appointed Principal of Genazzano FCJ College in Kew, Victoria. As Principal she offered the school community collaborative leadership. Parents, staff and students embraced this opportunity and many new initiatives were offered and accepted.
In 1993 as her time of office at Genazzano came to an end and retirement loomed, she was asked to go and help establish the FCJ Society in Romania. This new initiative was a response to the Pope's request to the religious congregations of the West to see what they could do to help rebuild the Church of the East after fifty years of communism.
The Sisters arrived in Romania in 1994. Two of the sisters went to the north of the country and Margaret Mary stayed in Bucharest and was invited to take up a position teaching English at the Institute of Theology.
In the Australia Day Honours List of 1994 Margaret Mary was awarded an OAM for her services to education. This was a joy to Margaret Mary, the FCJ Sisters, family and friends and her students and colleagues in Romania.
A congregation of more than six hundred gathered at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Deepdene to celebrate the life of a much-loved woman of faith, grace and style.
