Mary Jane Wilson

Mary Jane Wilson or Maria of Saint Francis (3 October 1840 - 18 October 1916) was an Englishwoman born in India who founded a religious order, the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victory, and was declared Venerable by Pope Francis.[1]

She was born in Hurryhur, Mysore to English parents, and grew up in the Anglican faith. After the death of her parents she moved to England to the care of an aunt. She converted to Catholicism, and was baptised in France on 11 May 1873.[2]

In 1881 she moved to Madeira to nurse an Englishwoman. She settled in Funchal and lived the rest of her life on Madeira. In 1884 she co-founded, with Amélia Amaro de Sá, the religious order of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victory (sometimes "... Victories";[3] FNSV, Congregação das Irmãs Franciscanas de Nossa Senhora das Vitórias). In 1907 she nursed patients throughout a smallpox epidemic, and was awarded the honour of "Tower and Sword" (Torre e Espada). The revolution of October 1910 forced her to leave Madeira, but she returned a year later. She died in Madeira, aged 76, on 18 October 1916.[2] She was declared Venerable on 9 October 2013.[4]

A small museum in Funchal is dedicated to her life and work,[5] and there is a sculpture of her, by Luís Paixão, in the municipal gardens in Santa Cruz.[6] A book on her life The invincible Victorian, the life of Mary Jane Wilson by Terry Dunphy was published in about 1950 by the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Venerable Mary Jane Wilson". CatholicSaints.info. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 (in Portuguese)"Mary Jane Wilson". Congregação das Irmãs Franciscanas de Nossa Senhora das Vitórias. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victory". Catholic Directory of India 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2016. NB Text of page uses "... Victories"
  4. ↑ "1916: 18 October". Hagiography Circle. Retrieved 26 March 2016. Source gives dates and details of the steps leading to the decree
  5. ↑ "Museum Nucleus Mary Jane Wilson". Madeira-Cultura. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  6. ↑ "Sculpture of Sister Mary Jane Wilson". Madeira Islands. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Catalogue record for "The Invincible Victorian"". British Library. Retrieved 26 March 2016.


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