Sr Nerina Zanardo
"Remain in my love..."
In 1955, Sister Tecla Merlo arrived in Sydney, Australia with Fr James Alberione during his worldwide visit to encourage and strengthen the growing Pauline Family. They travelled together with the first pioneer sisters who came to establish our first Australian community in Sydney. We know how Sister Tecla listened to their hopes and struggles and offered them gentle encouragement. With a motherly heart she reminded the sisters that, even far from home, they were part of a mission far greater than themselves. Together with Fr James, she affirmed the importance of sharing the Gospel through modern communication, offering assurance in the future of our Pauline presence in Australia.
I entered the Daughters of St Paul too late to meet Sister Tecla personally. Sr Bernadette, one of the sisters I now live with, did meet her in 1962, on a later visit. She remembers Sister Tecla’s welcoming smile, her simplicity and her warm, loving manner. She recalls the visit as a moment of special blessing and grace, receiving from her a lifelong encouragement that our vocation and mission will flourish wherever faith, courage, and trust in God are present.
And so, I remind myself that even without the privilege of meeting Sister Tecla, she is not a distant foundress. When, as Daughters of St Paul, we choose courage and trust over fear, mission and self-gift over comfort, gentleness and prayerful stillness over haste, Sister Tecla is ever present in our choices. ❦