Fame for missions of mercy sister

FAME comes to some Holy founders while they are still alive, and on one occasion, when Mother Mary Martin was checking in at the Aer Lingus desk at Shannon, to fly to Boston to the MMM house there, the receptionist, on hearing her name, exclaimed "Oh, I thought you were a saint!" Which reminds me that that remarkable order of nuns saw the final profession recently of Sr Mary Swaby, at Holy Rood Church, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
Canon Mark Swaby, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Aid Societies, gave the address at this final profession of his niece.
The Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev James McGuinness, concelebrated the Mass with Mgr E H Atkinson, VG, Canon Mark Swaby. V Rev David Fordo (Dean), Rev P Bailey, SC!, parish priest and Rev Frank McCarthy.
Medical Missionaries present were Sr Vincent Ryan, Regional Superior, and Sisters Butterly, Dean, Borda, Roberts and Percival.
Sr Mary Swaby qualified as a pharmacist and was on the staff of St George's Hospital. Lincoln.
As a volunteer in the missionary movement she worked in Nigeria and in 1976, as a medical missionary of Mary, served five years in Tanzania in the Hanang District Hospital at Dareda, to where patients flocked for treatment from miles around, and it was common for Sr Mary to undertake journeys of 200 miles.
In his address Canon Swaby appealed for prayers for all Medical Missionaries of Mary, and for all sisters working in the younger churches. "They are not just doctors and nurses," he said, "they are missionaries and therefore are aiming to lead others to faith. Here the grace of God is needed."
In the very early days of the medical missionaries in Ireland, I had the privilege of driving many missionaries around the country on their propaganda work, and while these greyuniformed nuns graced the car I always felt safe, until one winter I hit an ice patch on the top of Watergrass Hill, descending into Cork, and we travelled sideways at 60 mph, and finished up facing Dublin.
On another occasion I was bringing their splendid propaganda film to show to the Cistercians in Mount Mellaray. For some monks this was the first sound movie they ever heard. I sent a telegram from Cork City to say, "Arriving with 16mm equipment", (sixteen millimetre was the size of home movie film), and I arrived at the monastery to find that the guestmaster had made hasty arrangements to house 16 Medical Missionaries of Mary overnight.