Vale Sr Moira Sheedy
Sr Moira Sheedy RSM passed away peacefully at Mercy Place Keon Park on 4 January, just a few days after celebrating her 95th birthday.
A much-loved Sister of Mercy, her funeral was held on 16 January at Ursula Frayne Memorial Chapel in Fitzroy, Victoria.
A proud Tasmanian who loved the land of her birth, Sr Moira was in her 74th year of religious life and is remembered for her skill as an educator, pastoral carer and gifted artist.
Hailing from Waratah in Northwest Tasmania, young Moira and her family enjoyed life on an apple orchard in Spreyton before moving to Burnie in the late 1930s.
Having attended school in Deloraine, it was there that she felt called to become a Sister of Mercy.
Making her religious profession of vows in 1950, Sr Moira chose words from the concluding doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, “Through Him, With Him, In Him” as her motto.
Those words were a comfort and strength for her throughout her life, especially knowing that her twin brother, the late Fr Gerard Sheedy, would be saying them in his daily Mass.
Across the decades Sr Moira was involved in education both in Tasmania and in Victoria, and was described as a wonderful teacher and a school principal.
Founding Principal of St Paul’s Catholic School in Bridgewater, Sr Moira’s joy and commitment to education were an important gift which really assisted the school’s growth in its formative years.
She wanted the school motto to be from the letters of St Paul and decided on, “We are God’s Work of Art” (Ephesians 2 :10) because she truly believed it and wanted the children and the whole community to as well.
This motto is still emphasised regularly by the school, continuing the tradition she commenced.
Always willing to give a helping hand or a listening ear to anyone in need, Sr Moira was also known for her artistic giftedness, especially by many Sisters who have an original piece of her work, including an artistic expression of their motto.
Sr Moira keenly supported the various gatherings and celebrations of the Mercy Sisters across Tasmania and Victoria, as well as meeting with other religious in Tasmania.
Having recently expressed her readiness to go to God, Sr Moira stated that she wanted to go home to her God two days before her passing, mouthing all the words to Venerable Catherine McAuley’s ‘Suscipe’ sung by those around her.
In her last days, she was comforted by the presence of her sister Marg, nephews and her Mercy Sisters.
We give thanks for Sr Moira’s life and pray that she is now held in the loving arms of the God of Mercy who delighted in her as God’s Work of Art.