Stephen Vasciannie

SISTER MARY Cabrini, who spent the better part of her life building up St. Richard's Primary School, passed away last week. Sister devoted her life, her actions, her thoughts to the greater glory of God, and St. Richard's was the main mission that God presented to her. Others have, of course, made and continue to make major contributions to St. Richard's, but, as the school commemorates its 75th anniversary this year, we must acknowledge Sister Cabrini's life of service to the institution: If you seek her monument, stand at St. Richard's and look around you.

In the mind's eye, and by her achievements, Sister may live forever. During her time as the principal of St. Richard's - which must have lasted for at least 30 years - she never sought publicity or recognition for herself. But her dedication to the idea of spreading God's word through education for all who came throughthe school's gates was unflinching.

Institutional Culture

In Sister's time, therefore, St. Richard's (known as Whitehall Primary up to about 1970) became an intellectual powerhouse without much fanfare. Students in the '60s and '70s learnt, as part of the institutional culture, that the Common Entrance Examination was an important item to be addressed, but that it was only part of the broader education we should take from the school. The result of Sister's leadership may be briefly and firmly stated: From the 1960s to the present, St. Richard's has been among the best, if not the best, primary/ preparatory schools in Jamaica.

Sister Cabrini was very Jamaican, but with an international orientation. Don't joke: If you consistently missed your lines in the National Pledge for Schools, or if you appeared to be lip-synching the National Anthem, Sister's booming voice would record her disappoint-ment at morning worship. And the St. Richard's in the 1960s must have had more than 600 students from grades one to nine, Sister seemed to know all the names: if you played games after Sister had rung the school bell, fret not, Sister would soon be coming to your classroom to have a word with you.

On some days, during the lunch break, Sister would sit outside the school hall reading her Gleaner. Looking back, this may have been a way of encouraging us to read widely; but at the time, we thought it was Sister's way of keeping an eye on the activities on the playing field - for as soon as something happened on the playing field, the booming voice would summon the prota-gonists. Gleaner-reading was a part of Sister's multitasking. But, it was also part of our education, for during morning worship Sister was not averse to including topical references for the Lord's consideration. We prayed, for instance, for the suffering children in the Biafran crisis in the late 1960s naturally, Sister did not indicate whether her sympathies lay with the secessionist forces in that conflict.

GuidingSpirit

Even to the eyes of a pre-teenager, Sister was the guiding spirit in all areas of school life. She was in charge, for instance, of religious training for first communion aspirants. We were carefully taken through the elements of the catechism, but we may have let Sister down on two questions. The Trinity: three persons in one God, but not three Gods: Father was able to detect conceptual uncertainty on the part of the 10-year-olds on this issue. And, you must be born again: So then, how many times were we born? At least some aspirants remained literal-minded on this issue.

Sister also took charge of selling lunch tickets. I believed she sensitively used this function to make sure that all children had regular access to meals. She also maintained a special interest in the choir, as the school won numerous gold and silver medals at the annual Jamaica Festival. Sister was always there, organising, listening, offering advice. She would send us to look up what it meant to say that 'Marianina' was a 'merry fay', and asked our advice on this or that 'predicament' pertaining to our brilliant but eccentric lead singer.

Ultimately, behind the powerful voice, the energy, and the ready smile, there was a gentle spirit working always to advance the cause of fairness, justice and morality. Sister has shaped many minds - she will be missed by thousands.