Sr Mary Virginia Fredericks SAC Rest in Peace

by Kilian SC · Published September 30, 2019 · Updated September 27, 2019

By Sr Annemarie Niehsen SAC – Pallottine Sister Mary Virginia Fredericks died on August 14 at the age of 91.

Born Magdalena Fredericks in George on August 25, 1928, she was the youngest sibling of the family.

Magdalena joined the Pallottines in 1970 as a postulant. Thereafter, she started her novitiate and received the name Mary Virginia. She made her first profession on January 22, 1973 and her final profession exactly six years later.

Sr Virginia served in several places: in Oudtshoorn and George, and in Cape Town at St Joseph’s Home in Montana and St Vincent Pallotti Hospital (formerly St Joseph’s Sanatorium) in Pinelands.

Later, she served in the provincial house as a professional cook, taking great care of her community’s well-being and that of everyone who visited the house. Sr Mary Virginia was a creative cook and kept her very special secret recipes to herself.

She was also the congregation’s historian and congregational “memory”. If anyone asked about any historical event, Pallottine Fathers or Brothers, buildings or places, her answer would be: “I remember so well…”

In her later years, living with severe arthritis and problems associated with ageing, Sr Virginia spent much time in prayer and reflection about her life and the hardship and sufferings she had endured.

In Christ she found her true meaning, identity and purpose. She understood that it is he who reveals to us “who we really are”. He gives meaning and purpose to sufferings and loss. In Christ she found her answers and saw how pains could be transformed.

Sr Mary Virginia’s Requiem Mass took place at the St Vincent Pallotti convent in Pinelands, and she was laid to rest at Woltemade cemetery..