Dear Alumnae,

Welcome to 1999! I wish you many blessings and hope it is a happy, interesting and fruitful year for you all. We are at the tail end of our summer holidays so there is an atmosphere of preparation for the beginning of the academic year. Schools return next week, Universities not until the end of February, and our Cricket series and Australian Open Tennis championships are nearing their finals. The weather is hot and humid and my garden is literally growing before my eyes. All is lush and green. Actually my garden has been glorious since November ... just thousands of shasta daisies and gardenias ... just green and white ... and I picked armfuls every couple of days and one could not see where I had taken them from.

We have had a particularly international Christmas period. I had Yujin, the daughter of Korean alumna, Hae Sook Lee, stay with us for a week over Christmas; and on Christmas Day (when we in Australia celebrate Christmas with our families) we had the pleasure of including Colombian alumna, Gloria Restrepo with her husband, Eliseo, their four children and their spouses, to lunch with us. It was such a happy gathering (twenty-three of us in all), glorious sunny day with a light breeze off the water and lots of chat and fun. And yesterday, I farewelled Austrian Idi Schoeller who had a relaxed week with us here in Sydney en route to visit her daughter who lives in outback Queensland. Again I thoroughly enjoyed having her with us. I was delighted to hear from the Irish Alumnae Association to let us know one of their alumnae, Roisin Macdougald, will be visiting Sydney next week also. It was great hearing from the Irish Association again.

I have just been "shown" the redesigned Web Site and I want to sing the praises of all concerned in its creation. One of our very strong Sacre-Coeur values is to give our talents back to our communities...and I can only say that our Editor (Josephine Barcelon), our Webmaster (Antonia Hayes), our Translators (Dominique Archambeaud, Cristina Elias de Tejada...their teams - and families!) epitomise such a value. I can assure you the AMASC site doesn't just happen...they work so selflessly, so talentedly, with such insights, such creativity to produce such an informed, attractive Web Site for us all. And as soon as one issue is completed, they are planning and working on the next! On behalf of all the alumnae of the world, I thank you - my wonderful Web team - for giving us the AMASC site which gives us such a facility by which to be informed, to take much in and discern, and on which to interact, to comment...and hopefully be compelled to act in our own communities to make our world more compassionate, more loving and more just for all.

Communication between the AMASC Secretariate and the National Associations is strong and constant. Josephine Barcelon is in constant contact with many in receiving and preparing material for the website and I receive on an average of four emails per day from all corners of the world. [It is the first thing I do each morning - receive and immediately reply to the emails]. Three thousand have now "visited" the AMASC website and about 150 have left a comment on the Guest Book.

Since my last letter, I have visited the alumnae of Mumbai (India), London (UK), Madrid, Seville, Grenada, Mallorca and Barcelona (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal) and met with the Presidents and representatives of the European Associations who are planning the celebrations in Brussels in October 2000 for the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the Society of the Sacred Heart by St Madeleine Sophie in 1800. I also attended the World Conference of OMAEC in Lisbon with Dominique Archambeaud, our European delegate to OMAEC. We were delighted that Isabel de Souza de Macedo de Mello, a Portuguese alumna, came down to Estoril to meet us.

The trip was very full but also so interesting and fruitful. I left Sydney on October 17th and spent the following day in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) with Michelle Vas and Olga Valladares alumnae of Sophia College. We were joined by other alumnae and the rscj community for a meeting and luncheon at the College. There is much interest from the Indian alumnae to become part of the World Association. We look forward to hearing of their news and plans. In London I visited Woldingham where Caroline Griffith and I were guests of the Principal, Maureen Ribbins and Linda Fullerton-Batten, Secretary of the Woldingham Society, to lunch. It is such a beautiful location and a vibrant school spirit is so evident. I also enjoyed meeting with the senior class and the rscj community. Anna Clark, President of the English Alumnae Association, organised a Drinks Party at the Hurlingham Club so I could meet many of the English and Irish alumnae. Again another very pleasant and interesting occasion. Several English alumnae are involved on the Board of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, an ecumenical women’s institute at Cambridge. The English Alumnae Association is again holding an international cocktail party for any alumnae who happen to be in London on March 4th 1999. Please let any of your alumnae know of this open invitation, so they may be able to attend and further international Sacre Coeur connections.

Whilst in England I contacted, Suzanne O’Connor, the new President of the Irish Association, who was very interested in the concept of AMASC and wants to play an active part. The Irish Alumnae associations are very active on the home front, working constantly to support their Benevolent Fund and their 29 retirement units. [An email from Claudia Taylor-East from Malta a few days ago, also announced the revival of the Maltese Association with a meeting to be held in Sleima on May 25th. Great news!]

From London to Madrid, to Seville and Grenada where I was so warmly welcomed by the Spanish alumnae. Such full and happy days, visiting their schools of Rosales and Chaumartin in Madrid, the two new schools in Seville, the school in Grenada and the two schools in Barcelona to meet the students and staff, the alumnae associations and the wonderful retirement and nursing homes which are the special projects of the alumnae associations in Madrid and Seville. The President of the Spanish Association is Pilar Medina Maestre in Seville and I was happy to meet Pilar and Maria Pirajno Medina again in Mallorca with the European Presidents. There was also great hospitality in Spain and much sharing of ideas and plans. I was delighted by the enthusiasm for the Sydney Conference in 2002 and I was able to share ideas on the theme "Reconciliation" and the Study Plan.

I am always amused when in Europe at how far the Europeans feel Australia is away from them!!! We certainly don’t feel Europe is a long way from us ... nor anywhere else in the world for that matter. As I explained to the alumnae of Seville and Grenada that the world is getting so much smaller .... as when I visited their cities previously in 1962, it had taken me six weeks to get to Europe (by ship) and this time, I had lunch in Sydney on Saturday, lunch in Mumbai on Sunday and lunch at Woldingham on Monday! I was pleased to see the interest in coming to Sydney for our Conference .... we are certainly planning a wonderful Conference and welcome for you all.

The OMAEC Conference was interesting. It was a great opportunity for me to network with major alumnae associations -- the Jesuits, the Salesians, the De La Salle, etc. The keynote address [reprinted in this issue] was on the responsibility of Christians to humanise the world and work against the dehumanising aspects of economic rationalism and globalisation ... it was of the same spirit as Teresa Porcile’s keynote address in San Luis Potosi.

I was so proud of the active participation of so many Sacre Coeur alumnae in this World Meeting. The oldest and the youngest there were our alumnae ... the eldest, Nancy Dargel an alumna of Poitiers (France) and a graduate of Oxford, represents OMAEC at the United Nations Office in Geneva [a report of her activities is attached - Nancy is in her eighties but her great intellect shines as brightly as ever and it is wonderful that at this age, she is still devoting her energies to this work] and the youngest were Argentinians Ana Drisaldi and Jimena Pini and Mexicans Caterina Cicerone and Alessia Clemente [See report from young Argentinians Ana Drisaldi and Jimena Pini in this issue.] They were led by Italian alumna Fedi Rossi Germani, the delegate for Youth on OMAAEEC Executive. Spanish alumna, Maria Victoria Bereute, is a Vice President of OMAEC. And of course, Dominique Archambeaud, my Advisor and AMASC Representative for Europe to OMAEC attended the Conference with me. Unfortunately Peruvian Maria Casabonne de Machiavello, my Advisor and AMASC representative to OMAEC for the Americas was unable to join us at the last minute due to ill health.

[To emphasise the smallness of the world today ... yesterday I rang Nancy Dargel in Geneva where she is rehabilitating following a hip replacement a month ago. I asked if she could send me a precis on her fascinating report presented at the OMAEC Conference in Lisbon. Within six hours, she had written it and arranged to have in faxed to me from a friend’s fax. And she puts out a challenge to me. "Are there no alumnae of our association resident in New York who are prepared to represent OMAEC there? All our work is voluntary -- it is essential to be living in the place where one may be going to meetings that last for even weeks on end." I shall take this up with the alumnae of New York in case we can find someone capable, interested and timewise able.]

Before leaving Europe, I had several days in Palma, Mallorca where we received such assistance and hospitality from the Palma alumnae. I met with the European Presidents and their teams who are preparing for the great celebrations in Brussels on 28-29-30 October, 2000 for the Bicentenary of the foundation of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Much work has been done, and much is being done to make these celebrations vital and revitalising of the mission of St Madeleine Sophie. Of particular interest to me were the plans of several alumnae associations to reinculturate the schools which were begun by the Society [now taken over by Diocesan authorities] with the history and Sacre Coeur traditions and values. They have received enthusiastic welcome by some of the schools to learn of their Sacre Coeur traditions, mission and values. We hope and pray that this rekindling will spread the values and mission of St Madeleine Sophie to the lives of many.

Belgians Kathleen Dor and Sr Chantal de Jonghe were the driving force of this meeting although they were ably supported by Cecile Sprokholt van Loon and her team from the Netherlands, Dominique Archambeaud and her French team, Barbara Nagamine Coreth and her team from Austria, Charlotte Bardenhewer [who was unable to join us due to ill health] and her German team, Krystina Rycej from Poland, Mima Arcudi Vadela and the Italians, Pilar Medina and the Spanish and Anna Clark and the English alumnae. All left with a long list to accomplish before they meet again in Vienna this October to finalise their commitments and roles.

So where to this year? In our first year of the Australian AMASC Secretariate, we have established the Website and produced three newsletters in three languages on it. [We also send a hard copy of the newsletter to all National Presidents and ask that they take whatever they want from it to include in their own national and local newsletters. We want to give as many alumnae in the world the opportunity to learn of our internationality and share ideas and visions.] We have also produced the Study Plan on Reconciliation and have had enthusiastic response to it from many. Study groups are being formed all over the world to discuss the issues and deepen their awareness of reconciliation. This year the focus is reconciling oneself with oneself and then reconciling ourselves with our God. I wish you well in your endeavours and hope there will be some interesting and enlightening outcomes for us all.

In April the American Alumnae are holding their National Meeting in Washington. I wish them a stimulating meeting. In May the alumnae of Nova Scotia are celebrating 150 years of the Society of the Sacred Heart there and I hope to join them following a visit to the alumnae of South America.

May I again take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful 1999. May the values of St Madeleine Sophie inspire us to give more back to our communities, to make the world more loving, humane and aware of God’s great love and concern for each of us.

Trish Burns