PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Dear Alumnae

Two significant and greatly love & admired AMASC veterans (Emeritus Members) died within the last three months: Italian Filomena Luciani and Belgian Marguerite Nyst-Seigneur. Both women were integral to the formation of AMASC and worked tirelessly for it. Filomena helped write the initial Constitution and the recent revision. She also acted as honorary archivist for over 30 years. There are beautiful tributes to them from Denise Peeters and Maria Franca Migone in this newsletter. Our prayers and condolences to their families and friends. May they rest in peace.

My first priority on arriving home from Mexico with the AMASC mandate was to establish the AMASC Website. With the excellent input of Editor Josephine Barcelon, Webmaster Antonia Hayes and valiant translators - Cristina Elias de Tejara in Miami and Dominique Archambeaud in Paris - we achieved our goal in establishing it by the Feast of the Sacred Heart. [May I pay a particular tribute to the translators: Josephine emails Cristina and Dominique the English articles and almost overnight they return them in Spanish and French. They obviously drop whatever they are doing to help us ... and I know of several 4 am finishes! Thank you for this marvellous service. We also have a delightful young alumna from Barcelona visiting us at the moment and she so kindly translated the Study Plan. Thank you Natalia (Caldes).]

Over 1100 people have visited our AMASC website now and over 60 have left a message on the Guest Book. I was particularly delighted to see Mother General, Patricia Garcia de Quevedo rscj, was one of them. Thank you for your messages of encouragement. We enjoy your comments and hope they will in future discuss issues, coming events, etc. Please encourage your friends to visit the site <www.amasc-sacrecoeur.org> and give the address to the members of your Association and your Sacred Heart schools.

We shall be linking to other social justice groups including WUCWO. [In this issue, we feature a particularly interesting article from the recent European Regional Conference of WUCWO on the "Empowerment of Women"]

To ensure all National Presidents are receiving AMASC news, we send a hard copy to each National Association, to cover those who do not have internet access. We are receiving many emails so we know that many do have internet access now.

My second priority was to develop the Study Plan. This has been achieved by an enthusiastic team led by Alex Fernon with input also from Sister Mary Brennan rscj. Father Michael Mullins sm has been helpful with reading suggestions ... and this is ongoing. The Study Plan has been translated and sent to all National Presidents. We sent it as a "Draft Plan" to encourage and enable comments and suggestions, to ensure we are sensitive to cultural needs and interests. We expect the final Study Plan to come into effect at the beginning of next year - 1999.

Where has this year gone? We are now nearly to October and I am rushing to get on top of my career responsibilities [I am Executive Director of the Curran Foundation, a major foundation in Sydney which supports our leading Catholic teaching hospital, St Vincent's] as I fly out of Sydney on October 17 for the OMAAEEC Conference in Lisbon. En route to Europe I am spending a day in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) with the alumnae of Sophia College. I hope to meet many Indian alumnae and bring them closer into AMASC. From Mumbai to London where I shall stay with Caroline Griffith to catch my breath and get over the jetlag. I am looking forward to also meeting with Anna Clark and English alumnae whilst there. On to Madrid where I shall be with the Spanish alumnae in Southern Spain (Seville and Grenada) until I leave on October 28 for Lisbon. In Lisbon I meet up with Dominique Archambeaud and Maria Casabonne de Macchiavello who represent AMASC on OMAAEEC in Europe and the Americas respectively. I am looking forward to learning a first hand of the priorities of this organisation and how we in AMASC can be even more effective members.

From Lisbon to Mallorca on November 1st to meet with the European alumnae who are having a workshop to finalise plans for the 2000 celebrations in Brussels of the Bicentennial of the Society of the Sacred Heart. I know the Society in Australia and also our school here are beginning to think about our own celebrations. What is happening in your country?

I hope to meet with alumnae in Mallorca too. They are very special to me as I shall never forget their solidarity with me in my time of sorrow following my husband's death. [Some months after Jeff died - after a year fighting cancer - I went away from Australia for a few months to find myself again and to grieve by myself. My journey led me to Barcelona where I was staying with Isobel Negra. When I arrived there, Isobel handed me an airline tickets from the alumnae of Mallorca with an invitation to visit them for a weekend. I went willingly but had no idea of the warmth of welcome I was to receive. The first event they planned was a Mass for Jeff to which many, many alumnae came and the priest spoke to the values which my husband represented to me which I had had printed on his memorial card -- "a strong, gentle man - a man of courage, ability and integrity". I was so deeply touched by this thoughtfulness and solidarity. It is this which epitomises to me the values of AMASC. It touched me to the core of my being. I will never forget it.]

After Mallorca I hope to visit the alumnae in Barcelona for a day and then possibly the alumnae of Frankfurt where I have a seven hours stopover en route back to Sydney. In all I shall be away for three weeks and home in time for the final preparations for my elder son's wedding. Philip and Samantha Hawcroft marry in our Parish of St Peter Chanel (a martyr of the South Pacific) on December 5th. How I wish Jeff was here to see the fine young man his son has grown to be. I guess he will be watching from "afar".

My Secretariat in Sydney has developed a synergy and a wonderful team spirit. We energise each other in an atmosphere of fun and compatability. We meet once a month and in between each sets about achieving - Josephine and Antonia (the Website); Alex (Study Plan); Vickie and Claudia (The Conference 2002, the Presidency Meeting 2000; the Asian Meeting 2000 ... they have even secured the accommodation for 2002!); and Maryanne and Mairi and myself the day to day business which is constant and considerable.

To show who and where we are, I am attaching two photos: (a) a Secretariat Meeting and (b) a Sunday luncheon on the deck at my home with members of the Study Committee with their spouses.

(a) From the left: Website Editor Josephine Barcelon and her young son, Jose; Susie Scanlan (ASCA - Australian Sacre Coeur Association - President); Trish Burns; Claudia Curran; Vickie Greig (AMASC Vice President); and Treasurer Mairi Payten. [Maryanne Pidcock (Secretary) is taking the photo!]

(b) From left: A luncheon of great conversation and much convivialty with Fr Michael Mullins sm, Susie Scanlan, John Fernon; Natalie Caldes (young alumna from Barcelona visiting Sydney and staying with me for the weekend); Peter Eakin; Maryanne Pidcock; Alex Fernon; my younger son Richard Burns; and Paul Scanlan.

On October 1st I am hosting a luncheon for Sisters Mary Hinde rscj and Ursula Bugembe rscj from the Central Team who will be visiting Sydney. We hope to take them out on Vickie and John Greig's cruiser, so we can enjoy beautiful Sydney Harbour as we talk and exchange ideas.

On October 20th a Mass will be offered here in Sydney for the alumnae of the world and their families. I wish you all a wonderful Feast of Mater and may your celebrations be full of wonder and inclusiveness.

With love and affection,

Trish Burns September 27th, 1998
Sydney, Australia