Commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary of Sister Irene McCormack’s death have brought peace, joy and hope to attendees from across Western Australia, in celebrations fitting of the courageous missionary’s life.
The Eucharistic Thanksgiving Celebration took place at St Columba’s Church in South Perth on 21 May, a quarter of a century after Sr McCormack was murdered in Huasahuasi, Peru by members of terrorist organisation Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path).
The Mass was organised by Sr McCormack’s fellow congregational religious from the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, Sr Maree Riddler RSJ, and the chief celebrant was her cousin, Father Des Dwyer SJ.
Special guests in attendance included WA Governor, Kerry Sanderson; members of the McCormack family; and Sr Edith Prince RSJ, who served in Peru with Sr McCormack; alongside the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart; parishioners from across the state and staff and students from a number of WA schools.
The schools were very involved in the liturgy, with La Salle College students performing a liturgical dance and Corpus Christi College students singing in the choir.
Later, Irene McCormack College students performed a Peruvian dance to music by Peter McNess during a morning tea in the parish hall.
Attendees were also privileged to hear a humorous and moving account of Sr McCormack’s early life by her brother, Brian, and a sobering reflection by lawyer Sr Maria Casey RSJ about the night she broke the news of Sr McCormack’s death to her family.
Sr McCormack was only 52 years old when she died, yet she had lived a very full life.
She joined the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart at age 17 and professed her first vows at age 20, serving the Catholic education system in WA for 30 years as a primary school teacher, high school teacher and principal.
In 1987, she felt a call to become a missionary, stating that “to continue to spiritualise what it means to be poor and not to work with the poor in a third-world situation is for me a way of evading history, the real world, that fidelity to the Lord as a Josephite can no longer allow me to do”.
She was sent to Peru, where the Josephites had been working since 1981, and eventually to the village of Huasahuasi, high in the Andes Mountains, where she was responsible for distributing emergency goods by Caritas.
She started a schoolroom, library and community kitchen in Huasahuasi and fell in love with the local people, defying warnings to leave the area due to terrorist activity.
On that fateful day on 21 May 1991, members of Sendero Luminoso came to the village and forced Sr McCormack to face a kangaroo court, where they accused her of being a “Yankee imperialist”.
She was executed alongside four local men: Ruban Palacios Blancas, Alfredo Morales Torres, Predro Pando Llanos and Agustin Bento Morales.
Despite the horrible way in which she died, Sr McCormack is remembered for the way she lived – as a passionate, caring and hardworking woman, with a healthy sense of humour and a love for the South Fremantle Football Club.
Sr Emilie Cattalini RSJ said her spirit was reflected in the celebration at St Columba’s Church, which was filled with moments “of awe, of inspiration, of joy, of heartwarming community”.
“There was an exuberance and sense of ‘something’ that we just didn’t want to come to an end,” she said.
“And indeed there is no end. The spirit goes on. As Kahlil Gibran said: ‘When you reach the top of the mountain, then shall you begin to climb; and when the earth claims your limbs, then shall you begin to dance.’
“Irene continues to inspire us to climb and to lead us in the dance that goes on forever.”
Fellow attendee Gavin Reeves said while there would always be a sense of sadness that Sr McCormack’s life was cut short, she remained much loved by all whose lives she touched.
“Sr Irene will always be recalled as a woman of firm conviction with exceptional faith in Christ,” he said.
“Throughout the ceremony and subsequent gathering for morning tea, the overriding feeling was one of peace and joy. During the morning tea, all present enjoyed dancing and music to rejoice in the memory of a wonderful Christian person who continues to inspire us all.”
A special Taizé service was also held on Sunday, 15 May, in St Joseph’s Convent Chapel.