St. Thomas à Becket Foundation
Office : Holy Family Church,  226 Trelawney Avenue, Slough,  Berkshire.  SL3 7UD
Telephone: 01753-543770                                           e-mail : office@st.ThomasaBecket
registered charity 1062125/0
 

SISTER MARIE POWER Our Former Pastoral Worker

Sister Marie is 57 and a native of Kilkenny in the south-east of Ireland.
She has been a nun since the age of 21, when she joined the Order of the Holy Family of Bordeaux, and describes herself as ‘a social worker by trade’.

 

She has been involved in projects for homeless and divorced people and worked throughout Europe helping stem the flow of people-trafficking. ‘It’s a terrible business,’ she says. ‘Girls can be snatched off the streets and end up in prostitution.’
Possibly her most challenging assignment has been in championing the rights of the disabled.

As the first Pastoral Worker appointed by the St Thomas A’Becket Foundation, she dealt with all areas of disability, particularly in relation to the Catholic Church.
‘I had to make sure it was inclusive and aware of its responsibilities,’ she says. ‘My mission was to ensure that every diocesan event was accessible to the disabled.’
The success of her work was never better illustrated than at Northampton Cathedral in June 2005 when Monsignor Canon Peter Doyle was ordained the 12th Bishop of Northampton – the first appointment of a bishop in England and Wales by Pope Benedict XVI. ‘The cathedral was fully ‘signed’ to cater for the blind and we had the wheelchairs right up the front,’ she says proudly.

‘At the World Youth Day in Cologne, you could not get to within 10 kilometers of the stadium. Everything was closed off. So we caught a bus and then walked three miles, pushing the wheelchairs as we went.
The kids were so amazing and so good. 

‘I’ve had to fight every inch of the way for inclusion.
Working with these people made me appreciate how difficult
life must be for them.
And you realise this is what it’s like for them every day of the week.’

 

Sister Marie is no longer associated with the Foundation, although she promises to stay in touch.  She has been ‘elected into leadership’ in her Order with overall responsibility for ten communities (mainly involving the elderly) throughout the UK.

 She is much missed by the Foundation and all who were privileged to be in her care.

Report : Michael Taub
 

Michael Taub talked
to some ladies about
Sr. Marie and the
Foundation.

MAGGIE NICHOLS

 Maggie gives a parent’s perspective on the difficulties confronting the disabled. Daughter Catherine, 26, has hydrocephalus (water on the brain). She became blind at the age of five after a procedure for draining off the water went wrong. ‘A shunt, or valve, was inserted in her head with a tube down to her tummy. The pressure on the optic nerve caused her to go blind, although she has regained some of her sight.’

Catherine manages to live independently in her tiny bungalow in Milton Keynes. She can walk and look after herself to a degree but cannot control her movements. Support from social services has gradually diminished, forcing Maggie and husband Bruce to travel three times a week from their home in Weedon to offer support.

 ‘Catherine suffers short-term memory loss. This proved frustrating for the carers, as she’d forget the things they had told her just a day or so earlier.

 ‘Sister Marie has proved a godsend. I’m so disappointed she’s moved on. The work she has done with the deaf has been marvellous, even to the extent of learning sign language. She even arranged a fund-raising campaign to pay for carers to go to the World Youth Day in Cologne. She has been a huge help to us all; I can’t tell you how tremendous she is.

 ‘People rely on the Foundation. It’s wonderful to have them taking such good care of the disabled. Everyone is special to them.’
 

CHARMAINE DAOUD
 Charmaine’s life changed radically in 2001 when, at the age of 21, she was involved in a car crash in which her father and sister were killed and she suffered injuries that resulted in her being paralysed from the neck down.
At the time she had been physically active as a fitness trainer, personal instructor and lifeguard and studying for a sports science degree at the University of Bedfordshire. She spent three months in a neurological unit and nine months in the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, followed by three years in a nursing home.

 

Despite near-total disability, Charmaine was included in Sr Marie’s 15-strong party to attend the 2005 World Youth day in Cologne, although she was able to relieve the financial burden on the St Thomas á Becket Foundation by paying for herself and two carers. ‘Everything that could go wrong did go wrong, despite Marie’s meticulous planning. First there was the strike at Heathrow that delayed us three days, then the hotel didn’t have the pressure-relieving mattress ordered by Marie.
Finally, because the roads were closed, the specially-adapted transit van that was to take us to the arena where Pope Benedict was celebrating Mass couldn’t get through. But we eventually made it. It was well worth it in the end – a totally brilliant experience.’

 

Now 26, she is full of admiration for Sr Marie. ‘She couldn’t do enough for us. She took everything upon herself and a year later was still fighting BA to get us compensation. That’s the type of woman she is.

 

Charmaine is planning to complete her final year at university. ‘I’m going to miss Sr Marie. She has left a big gap to fill.’
 

GEORGIE DEVINE
Wheelchair user Georgie, 34, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at nine months. She lives with carers at her bungalow in Farnham Royal and is a full-time ICT student at the East Berks College in Langley.
She is full of praise for the work done on her behalf by Sister Marie Power and the Thomas A’Becket Foundation.

 ‘Marie is a lovely, lovely lady -- totally incredible. She’s been so very supportive and has actively helped me on a whole range of issues. She has also been a shoulder to cry on.’
Against all the odds, Fr Kevin O’Driscoll and Sister Marie managed to get Georgie to the World Youth Day in Cologne in August 2005.

 ‘It was an experience I’ll never forget. We were caught up in the British Airways disruption. We had already checked in when the baggage handlers walked out in support of the catering staff. Fr Kevin brought us backwards and forwards to Heathrow three days running. Finally we got away but our luggage didn’t arrive in Cologne. Instead of being able to buy gifts for family and friends, what money I had went on toiletries and changes of clothing and the like. But we got through it all and came out smiling.’

VERONICA McHUGH

Veronica lives in Luton with husband Jim, daughter Ellen and son Maurice, 21, who was born with Down’s syndrome.  The family are parishioners of St Joseph’s.
‘When the talk about going to the World Youth Day came up, Maurice was dying to go and Fr Kevin arranged for his nephew to accompany him to Cologne. Otherwise there was no way he could have gone. So I’m very grateful to Fr Kevin and the Thomas á Becket Foundation.

 ‘Sr Marie used to attend our monthly Masses. She was kind enough to arrange tickets for us to attend the Mass at Northampton Cathedral when Fr Peter was made bishop.’