Sister Mary Cuthbert
A FAREWELL INTERVIEW WITH SISTER MARY CUTHBERT
From the Coloma Magazine Summer 1980
1. What would you consider to be the highlights of your career?
I have never really thought of my work as a career, but as a way of life to which I have been called to serve God in my capacity as a Religious Sister and as a teacher. Looking back over the years, I think the first highlight was gaining my degree and then qualifying as a teacher. In the late nineteen-thirties it was extremely difficult to obtain a teaching post (as it is today) and so I was delighted when I was appointed as assistant mistress in the Convent of the Ladies of Mary in Scarborough, where I spent four very happy years. It was here that I finally decided to enter the religious life and join the Ladies of Mary, and so the next great highlight was taking the first step when I joined the Novitiate in Guildford in 1941. After spending two and a half years in preparation for my First Profession, I made my temporary Vows in 1944 and this was the greatest highlight in my life, when I dedicated myself publicly to the service of God and confirmed this for life when I pronounced my Final Vows in 1949. For this great grace I thank God every day of my life.
2. What were the most horrific, most pleasant and most critical moments of your career?
Of the thirty-six years I was at Coloma I have many memories. I arrived in Croydon in time to experience the onslaught of the flying bombs. I remember Exposition in the Chapel on the Feast of St. Peter and Paul when a doodlebug exploded some few hundred yards away. The monstrance rocked violently and we thought it would be shattered, but thank God nothing occurred, although the walls cracked from side to side. Another day - on the Feast of the Sacred Heart - the seventy-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the school - another bomb landed near us and every window was shattered, but no one was hurt. We were all more than thankful when peace was declared and we sang a heartfelt Te Deum Laudamus in Chapel in thanksgiving for all God's mercies and protection.
The next event in my life which I remember most clearly was becoming Headmistress in 1948. Then, as in all my years at Coloma, I was fully supported by a loyal and able staff, who certainly helped me to adjust to a task which involved so much more responsibility. I don't think there were any outstanding events in the years leading up to 1965 when the school was transferred to Shirley. This had been a tremendous decision to make and was only done after months of prayer, investigation and consultation. Coloma has been on the site in Tavistock Road for nearly one hundred years and the buildings there gave visible witness to the sacrifice and service of generations of nuns, staff and parents. The beautiful Chapel was the centre of the life of the Community and the pupils. With the transfer this tangible memorial of the past would disappear. This perhaps was one of my saddest moments, leaving behind all that spelt of the past history of the Ladies of Mary since they first came to Croydon and founded Coloma in 1869. And yet it was an essential move in order that the school might grow and develop in the future.
And so the summer term of 1965 remains in my memory as one of intense activity as we packed our bags and stacked our books - and prepared to leave for the ShirleyHills. The last Mass in the Chapel will always remain as a very precious memory, as the whole school assembled to give thanks to God for all the blessings of the past ninety-six years.
I remember the great excitement of the first day of term in the new school - the exclamations of surprise and delight at the new facilities, the laboratories, the magnificent Hall and a separate Gym! and then time to explore the extensive grounds - the playing fields - so much to see. It was hard to shepherd everyone back into the school for lessons! The school was officially blessed and opened by Archbishop Cowderoy the following June and placed under the patronage of St. Paul.
Some of my happiest memories have been of the numerous school journeys organised since 1958 (when the Sisters were first allowed to accompany school parties abroad!). During these it has been possible to get to know and understand girls in a very different environment and to my mind they are invaluable opportunities for strengthening bonds between staff and pupils. Together we have explored areas in France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Bulgaria and Crete, and made pilgrimages on several occasions to Rome and Lourdes. I enjoyed every minute of them, most of all for the company and good comradeship that existed among the whole group. May they long continue!
3. What changes have you seen in the school over the years and how do you see the future of the school as a comprehensive school?
I have seen many changes over the years in the status of the school from a Direct Grant to Voluntary Aided, from Grammar to Comprehensive. The outward symbols may have changed, but the core of the school remains the same. Pupils are pupils the world over, and there should be no radical changes in the basic element of any school. The staff are there to educate their pupils in the fullest possible meaning of the term, the pupils are there to benefit from the experience, knowledge and expertise of the staff and to make the most of their God-given talents in whichever direction these may lie. So, whatever a school may be called - be it Independent, Grammar or Comprehensive - I see the future of Coloma as an extension of what it is today where every girl is seen as an individual in her own right, where her strengths and weaknesses are given equal consideration, where her talents are developed to the full, and where she is prepared to take her place as a Christian citizen in the world of the future and where she will help to build up and extend the Kingdom of God. This is what I see as the ideal of any school.
4. Can you tell us more about your future plans?
5. What exactly does being the Provincial of your Order entail?
And now you ask about myself. Since I was elected as Provincial I have been responsible, (under the Superior General) for the over-all organisation and spiritual and material welfare of our Convents in England and the Sisters who form the Provincial Team, and more generally with all the Sisters of the Province who meet for Provincial Assemblies and days of prayer at regular intervals.
6. Will you be expected to do a lot of travelling?
This new work entails visiting the Houses in various parts of England and in September I am making my first visit to Ghana. The Superior General, Sister Ruth, also calls the Provincials to Rome from time to time for general meetings.
7. Do you have any extra time at all to follow up any hobbies, and if so, can you tell us what are your favourite pastimes?
Yes - I do have sometime to myself. I shall now enjoy being able to catch up on my reading, to devote more time to sewing which I enjoy very much and perhaps developing my interest in drama - from the audience, not participant, point of view I
8. How is your rubber plant?
I have left the rubber plant in school - after playing a starring role in this year's Third Form plays, it continues to flourish and grow and will soon need a hole in the ceiling. I am told it responds well to a weekly bathe in milk. Would some one volunteer for this duty?
Having answered all the questions put to me by your Magazine Committee, I want to end by saying how much I miss you all. I shall always follow your activities with great interest and I am always pleased to hear news of each one of you.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers and good wishes on my retirement, for the beautiful and original cards which I shall always treasure and for the many and varied gifts, each of which is so useful. May God bless you all. I assure you all of my prayers, both now and in the future.
Sister Mary Cuthbert