Sister Mary Dolores Donnelly RSM

On Saturday 21 November 2020, the Sisters of Mercy, together with Bishop Michael McCarthy, Fathers Bryan Hanifin, Marcel Kujur and Andrew Hogan, gathered in St Joseph’s Cathedral for the Funeral Mass for Sister Mary Dolores Donnelly. Family members and friends were present as well as many parishioners, staff members and students from St Mary’s, North Rockhampton.

Carmel May Donnelly was born in the Mackay Mater Hospital on 7 May 1936 to parents James and Anne (Russell) and she was a sister to Edward, Bernard and Michael. Growing up in Farleigh, Carmel was educated by the Sisters of Mercy at Farleigh, St Patrick’s (Mackay) and the Range College. After completing Year 12, Carmel attended Kelvin Grove Teachers’ College and returned to teach at the Farleigh State School.

On 21 January 1958, Carmel entered the Rockhampton Sisters of Mercy, was received as Sr M Dolores on 14 December 1958 and professed on 14 January 1961 with Srs M Madonna Watts, Barbara Callaghan (dec’d), Lila Galvin, Bernadette Mary Reece and Mary Della. Dolores chose the motto: Thy will be done!

Dolores taught both primary and secondary pupils in many schools, including St Mary’s, North R’ton (1958, 60, 90-96), Mount Morgan (1961-62, 65-68), The Range College (1963, 1974), Koongal (1964), South Bundaberg (1969), Biloela (1970), Springsure (1971-73), West Mackay (1975-76), South Mackay (1977-81), Sarina (1983-85), Our Lady’s, R’ton (1988), Park Avenue (1989) and lastly back at St Mary’s School, North R’ton where, after retiring in 1996,  she continued to be a Mercy presence and a valued parishioner and confidante to many. While at Koongal, South Bundaberg, Springsure, West Mackay, South Mackay and Sarina, Dolores was school Principal. In the early 1970s, Dolores gained a Diploma of Theology from Banyo Seminary, upgraded her teaching qualifications at McAuley College in the 1980s, assisted at Meteor Park Conference Centre (1986) and enjoyed spiritual renewal time in Sydney (1987).

Words of Remembrance

Dolores joined Sr M Ursula Brown as a member of the Ecumenical Chaplaincy Team at the Capricornia Correctional Centre in 1997, a ministry of support for inmates, their families and the staff. When ill health prevailed, Dolores retired from this ministry in 2019, and was duly recognised for ‘diligent and faithful ministry towards prisoners and their families’. In 2018, Dolores moved to Loreto, then McAuley Place in February 2020 and lastly to Bethany Home on 11 June 2020. She died on 13 November 2020 in the Rockhampton Mater Hospital and following her Funeral Mass, Sister was buried at the Memorial Gardens, Nerimbera. May the strong and caring spirit of Dolores rest in peace.

Just last week, I found a folder of reflections and poems compiled by Dolores. She had a gift for writing and one particular reflection, entitled ‘The picture of my life’ begins in this way and I quote: ‘My life reminds me of a jig-saw puzzle. As one piece fits into another, so my days join together to form the picture of my life.’ The image of completing a jig-saw, piece by piece, and its metaphor for life must have appealed to Dolores. It so happens, jig-saws were one of her favourite past-times. With her dogged determination and an eye for detail, this image makes good sense and is a perfect fit for Dolores. She negotiated life, and death, with her carefully measured and steady manner, her constant but kindly presence. That final jig-saw piece, now placed, completes the picture. The closing sentence of the reflection, written as a prayer, Dolores would have prayed with great sincerity: she wrote: ‘I pray that when the last piece of the puzzle is put into place, what will appear is not a picture of me, but a picture of you, my God’.  Dolores was the face of God for so many children and adults, but, unassuming as she was, Dolores was no ‘pushover’! Keenly intelligent and astute, Dolores ‘didn’t suffer fools gladly’.

The young Carmel Donnelly learnt about God from the example of her faith-filled parents, James and Anne, growing up in rural Farleigh with her brothers, Eddie, Bernard and Michael. She also learnt the simple but time-honoured values that shaped her stance and her response to life. Hard work, honesty, loyalty, courtesy, kindness, caring about family and friends, and church involvement were the order of the day. Carmel loved you all, her family, and her close connection to many cousins. She proudly claimed her Farleigh origins, and the fact that she had been educated by our own Sisters of Mercy, beginning at St Brigid’s, Farleigh. After her teacher training in Brisbane and following in her mother’s footsteps, Carmel returned to teach at Farleigh State School. However, a deeper call to religious life was beckoning her and Carmel entered our then Rockhampton Congregation in January 1958. Our Novice Mistress, Mother Patrick, would have been delighted to welcome a trained teacher to the Novitiate. It would be on a par with winning Gold Lotto!  

At her reception later that year, Carmel was given the religious name ‘Dolores’ – a name that honours Mary, Mother of Sorrows; but many of us fondly referred to her as ‘Dolly’. I would like to acknowledge Sisters Madonna, Bernadette Mary and Mary Della, three members of the same profession group who are with us today. We are aware of the sadness that you have in your heart at this time and especially that Lila Galvin, another member of the group, is in Mackay and unable to be here because of ill health but we can be certain that Lila is with us in spirit, hopefully watching the livestream.

Dolores’ years in education spanned the length and breadth of our diocese, where she taught both primary and secondary grades in rural towns and the larger coastal cities, often being the Principal in many of these schools. Looking at her ministry placements, you would notice there are very few centres where Dolores hasn’t lived. After-school activities included teaching speech, visiting families and Dolores attended more than her share of meetings: firstly, Parents & Friends and then the introduction of School Boards. To Dolores, being a member of the School Board was a very serious responsibility. Many of us can testify that Dolly worked very hard wherever she was: especially in the days when school resources were scarce, classes were large, good teachers were hard to find and funding limited. I don’t think Dolores ever asked a staff member to do a task that she wasn’t prepared to do herself. During her lifetime, Dolores saw many educational changes and improvements within our schools, especially witnessing the transition from schools staffed totally by religious to the employment of lay teachers, followed by the appointment of lay principals, many of whom she mentored in the role. True to form, Dolores happily returned to classroom teaching after fifteen years of being a Principal. It was fitting then, that in July 2011, Dolores was a nominee for the ‘Spirit of Catholic Education’ Award, citing her unswerving commitment to Catholic Education in our Diocese. Dolores took absolute delight in being able to make her weekly visits to her beloved St Mary’s, North Rockhampton, where she was that faithful and kindly Mercy presence.  Thank you to the various Principals and staff members who encouraged and made this experience possible for Dolores. To the whole St Mary’s Parish community, your friendship, care and concern for Dolores was remarkable. You were her friends, and we take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank you most sincerely. Thank you to the students and staff for being here with us today to honour Dolores, on a very warm Saturday morning in your school uniforms. Sister would have been so proud of you. In recent days, the support of St Mary’s, through Jennie, has been invaluable.

Dolores wasn’t familiar with the word ‘Retirement’. As we know, in 1997, Dolores joined the Ecumenical Chaplaincy Team at the Capricornia Correctional Centre – a ministry which took Dolores to a new place of influence where she gained as much as she gave, namely wholehearted respect, admiration and love. Many words and tributes honour this time in her life, but perhaps Dolores’ own words express best of all what this ministry meant for her. She said: I am daily convinced that the ministry in which I am engaged enables me to live out my Baptismal call to bear witness to the person of Jesus. It is evangelisation in action! Just as Jesus befriended and ministered to the marginalised, I too, work with and support similar people who are frowned on by society. Part of Jesus' final teaching was, “I was in prison and you visited me.” (end of quote) To mark her 20 years of dedication to Prison Chaplaincy, Dolores was honoured at a ceremony in Brisbane in March 2018; she loved that event, soaking up the accolades, so rightfully deserved. Then last year, the local ecumenical prison chaplaincy team marked her retirement with the presentation of a specially engraved plaque which we used earlier in our funeral liturgy.

While I have focussed mainly on her involvement in education and prison ministry, we all know that Dolores, in her own inimitable way, touched the lives of countless people; stories abound of these sacred encounters.  With grateful hearts, let us cherish our own personal memories of her. In one of our publications, Dolores wrote: ‘To me, Mercy has always meant compassion, tolerance, kindness, understanding, love, forgiveness and a willingness to offer my time when it is needed’. These are the Catherine McAuley and Christ-like qualities that Dolores embodied and which in turn, gave shape, colour, depth and meaning to that unique picture of her life, now complete. May Dolores enjoy this completeness in communion with the God she loved and served so faithfully.

Joanne Molloy RSM

21 November 2020

Bishop Michael's Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Welcome as we gather, gather as the family of Sr Dolores to say farewell.

The prophet Isaiah writes “I have called you by name and you are mine”.  This was chosen by Sr Dolores, Sister of Mercy.  Choosing these words of our God reinforces the beautiful relationship that Dolores enjoyed with her God.

It was just after I arrived in the Diocese and was informed that the people who look after the ministry to the jail were coming to deliver their annual report.  One of the group was Paul Worthington, whose words are in today’s funeral brochure and are his reflection of her ministry and especially how Sr Dolores ministered at the jail.  After receiving their report, this very inexperienced Bishop asked the question “Do you have a plan, a succession plan Sr Dolores?” and I was left in no doubt there was no succession plan in place and that Sr Dolores answered for the group and said “We will always be visiting the jail Bishop”.  So, I got my first experience of Sr Dolores.  Ok, I thought to myself, should I ask another question or just say thank you.  The latter was the better course of action and I knew I wouldn’t be getting any more answers from her.  I think that, for me, just encapsulated who Dolores was.  Really what I did glean from the encounter was just how much she enjoyed every moment of the ministry, wasn’t going to let it go, the people inside and outside the jail knew her so well and loved her and they all sought a visit from her.

Over the years I would still pose the question, the same question, and Dolores began to realise what was happening and would just smile back at me and keeping thinking - this inexperienced Bishop, he just doesn’t  know what he’s doing.  And yet Sr Dolores, after the heart of Jesus, embodied mercy as she brought the heart of Jesus to all of those who loved her, and she loved them.

Sr Dolores began, as Sr Joanne so beautifully outlined that lovely story of her life and we hope that Sr Lila is watching today and joining us from Mackay, in the Farleigh State School as a teacher and then entered the Sisters, but continued teaching as her main apostolate and always seemed to have a soft spot for St Mary’s, she began there and finished there.  Sr Dolores then joined the chaplaincy team in 1997 out at the Capricornia Correctional Centre and continued there until quite recently.

There was more to Sr Dolores as she taught in our many schools of the Diocese and touched the many people, as per the comments still coming in.  Little comments like - “she visited my Father” and “thank you Dolly”, and all those lovely little comments that I’ve watched come into our office.

We gather on the eve of the last Sunday of the liturgical year, the Feast of Christ the King, and the Gospel we read is the one of this funeral Mass.  Sometimes I think of these coincidences, that tonight’s Gospel is exactly the same as what we read today.  I wonder if Sr Dolores really realised she would be celebrating her funeral on the last day of the liturgical year.  Matthew gathered together the sayings of Jesus and remembered what he said.  Then buried into that Gospel are the words of Jesus, the prime motivation for this Sister of Mercy as she followed Jesus, “in prison you came to see me”.  But there is more to this disciple of the Risen Lord as she lived a life bringing the merciful heart of Jesus through her connection with young people and all people alike.  We probably can never quantify the works of her mercy, but we certainly enjoyed its quality.

Today as we draw into our prayers, her family, those who join us from heaven – her parents and brother Edward, and those here today – Michael and Bernard and your families, and also the group that Sr Dolores entered the Sisters of Mercy with, we recall the invitation “Come you who my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world”.  This is the invitation to all of us.  Now Sr Dolores has taken up that invitation and taken her place prepared for her, the place of eternal life with Him.  As a true disciple of the Risen Lord, accompanied through her works of mercy as a teacher, jail visitor, parishioner and friend, Jesus now calls Sr Dolores to a new way of living within the merciful heart of our God.

Goodbye dear Carmel, as I came to know her as Carmel, may you enjoy the reward that is yours, the reward of living a good and faithful life.  May your soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in the peace of Christ.  Amen.

Sr Dolores' Prison Ministry

It was my pleasure and privilege to work in prison ministry with Sr Dolores for around 13 years until she broke her hip in the jail and had to give away this calling which she dearly loved.

Sr Dolores was a great mentor for me as I went through my training, adjusting to the physical environment behind the razor wire and learning how to be pastorally present with a prisoner. She was well known by both staff and many of the inmates. The presence of a religious within the jail meant she was considered somewhat unique as a chaplain. Older, longer serving prisoners treated her with great respect and would chastise younger offenders who used profanities around her. Although steeped in her Catholic faith Sister worked comfortably in the ecumenical team of chaplains across the decades.

She would encounter men who would say “do you remember me from the old jail Sister” or “do you remember me from school”. It was true that she had a great capacity for remembering past pupils and what school they were from. Many inmates would ask her to pray for them as they faced various life issues, facing court, having a new child or dealing with an illness. A staff member who was unable to be present at the funeral of a loved one asked Sister to conduct a memorial service at the time of the funeral. This was a treasured memory for her. She also conducted several memorial services for inmates who died. As she moved about the prison Sister treated each person, staff or inmate, with respect, kindness and gentleness. The only exception was if we were conducting Sunday services and the men were becoming unruly or talking instead of listening. A fearsome teacher/principal would suddenly surface to get proceedings back in order.

Last Sunday (15^th) I conveyed the news of Sister’s passing to the inmates at Sunday services. Those who knew her were saddened by the news. In their world, that is often chaotic and unstable, Sr Dolores was a gentle presence and a reminder of a God who loves them despite their circumstances.

Sister would witness to her calling to chaplaincy when this verse from Matthew 25:36 “I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ kept coming to her during a retreat. Although a hesitant starter she responded to God’s call in such a magnificent way that I’m sure verse 34 is now a reality for her “‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world”.

Rest in peace Sister

Paul Worthington

Sr Dolores' School Ministry

My first impressions of Sr Dolores were not of the gentle and compassionate Sister I came to know later in life.  As a Year 2 student at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Mount Morgan, in the mid-1960’s, Dolores as Principal was someone of whom I was very much in awe and someone who should not be crossed.  During one lunch time, some friends and I rocked the wooden form so hard that it landed on my ankle with the other boys on top.  My first thoughts as Mum took me to the hospital for x-rays were not of the pain in my leg, but the dressing down I was going to get on my return to school.  But it never eventuated.  I saw very early on the gentle, considerate and merciful side of Dolores that characterised her relationships with others throughout her life.

My next encounter with Sr Dolores was in 1990 when she joined the staff of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, North Rockhampton where I was the APRE. ‘Dolly’, as she was affectionately known by the staff at St Mary’s, worked her magic with a number of children, particularly boys, who thrived under her firm, but gentle and patient ways.  Her successes with the boys extended to taking under her wing, young male teachers with whom she worked at various schools over the years and to the principals to whom she was mentor, sounding board and counsel.  It was not unusual to see someone from another school coming to visit, perhaps to seek her wisdom in making an important career choice, but who would know because Dolores understood confidentiality perfectly.

It was in retirement that I think Dolores worked harder than ever, if that was at all possible, because her work ethic was solid throughout her life.  During my time as Principal of St Mary’s, Sr Dolores was our connection with and face of Mercy, in our school.  ‘Thy will be done’ was lived out every Thursday as she attended to her regular ‘jobs’: updating the enrolment registers, sorting and delivering the mail, proof-reading documents, maintaining Board member folders and of course in the lead-up to the Parish Fair, writing out the rides tickets that had been sold during the week - diligently and meticulously doing whatever was asked of her.  She was our resident ‘Grammar Cop’.  She took her role on the School Board seriously.  Without fail, Sr Dolores was prepared with a prayer that was relevant and topical to close our meetings.  She was an abundant source of corporate knowledge over many years of involvement.

With Dolly’s passing comes the end of her 30-year connection to the St Mary’s Catholic Primary School community.  Her gift and her big lesson for us was how to ‘mercy’.  What we do with that gift and knowledge only time will tell.

Mike Kelso