She always wanted to be a nun

Evelyn McNally, Sister Mary Rosina’s sister, said. “Right from the time she could think for herself, she wanted to be a nun,”

Constance Gladman was born in Koroit, Victoria, a small rural town in southwestern Australia. The date was December 23, 1922, and Constance would be the first of seven children born to her parents, Victor and Grace Gladman.  Connie (as she was called) had always felt a calling to religious life.

Her dad refused to allow her to enter the convent.

Connie attended school in Warrnambool in Victoria Province, and from there, she went on to Teacher’s College in Melbourne. She wanted to enter the convent, but her dad would not allow her. He felt that his oldest daughter needed to be exposed to the world as it was before making such a decision. Heeding her dad’s wishes and upon graduating, Connie taught in regular schools. Still, her desire to teach the impoverished never left her.

When she was in her mid-twenties, her father, seeing how his daughter had never lost her desire to become a teaching nun, relented and blessed her. Connie then joined the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Founded in 1874 by Servant of God, Jules Chevalier, the order’s primary focus was on missionary work.

She took the name of Sister Maria Rosina, and it was on to the missions

Connie took the religious name of Sister Mary Rosina. From that point on, missionary work was precisely the focus of Sister Mary’s ministry. She was sent to Papua, New Guinea, to teach.

Sister Mary Rosina was initially stationed at the order’s convent in Rabaul. The sisters there remembered how she could not wait to get to the outposts and begin working with the children. Soon, she was sent to the Vunapope Mission near Rabaul, and then she was sent to Turuk.

She was held in high regard and began training others to teach

Sister Mary became highly respected and was elevated to the post of Teacher’s Supervisor. The government held her in high regard, needing qualified people to help train the locals. She agreed to assist them. Training others to teach was something she came to truly love.

On November 30, 1964, after working for 15 years as a missionary teacher in New Britain, (part of New Guinea), Sister Mary Rosina was working with a novice teacher showing her how to grade papers. The children in the class were working on an assignment. A mentally ill man quietly snuck up behind sister and, wielding a machete, slammed it into the back of her neck. Two quick blows severed her spinal cord, and she slumped over, dead. The murderer ran away.

The children ran screaming from the room. Sister Mary’s still body lay there, her severed head on the desk and her pencil remaining in her hand. She was 41 years old. It is hard to imagine anyone, especially a child, being exposed to such a sight.

She died  “in odium fidei”  (in hatred of the faith)

Sister Mary’s family began the process of their sister being considered for sainthood by sending the bishop of New Britain (part of New Guinea) an official request to do so. The letter was delivered by Sister Rosina’s great-nephew, Father John Corrigan. Sister Mary was murdered “in odium fidei” (in hatred of the faith), and her road to beatification should make for a smooth journey. She has been declared a Servant of God, and her cause is now before the Congregation for the Causes for Saints.

We ask the Servant of God, Sister Mary Rosina, to pray for us.

Copyright© LarryPeterson 2024