The Road Autumn 2020

MARGARET MARY BATROS RSM
DAMASCUS SISTER OF MERCY
Olga Batros was born in Kousba, Lebanon, on 22 April 1909. Her
family came to Australia in 1910, first settling in NSW. Olga was
educated at Sacred Heart College Ballarat East and was received
into the Victoria Street congregation as Sister Margaret Mary in
1931. In 1941, she gained her registration as a teacher and spent
most of her teaching career teaching art at Sacred Heart, St. Martin’s
in the Pines and Aquinas College before moving on to Penhurst in
1976 as the parish Sister in Charge.
Sr Margaret was an accomplished artist and, in her retirement from
teaching, began painting full-time after taking it up at age 70. She
created several sets of Stations of the Cross which remain in churches
to this day. In a 1992 newspaper interview, Sr Margaret explained
that her first art studio was an old cloakroom and that the materials
for her artwork came from whatever she could find around the
convent, including old tins of household paint and Masonite boards.
Her distinctive artwork consists of layers of materials built up over
time, with each piece taking as long as three years to complete.
Pieces of bitumen, old stockings, kalsomine - nothing was too unusual
for her to experiment with!
In the Damascus College Mercy administration wing, we are
privileged to have a beautiful set of Stations of the Cross created by
Sr Margaret. In creating this set, her intention was to focus on the face
of Jesus and to express a portrait of the suffering Christ. The stations
were originally the prayer focus in the chapel of St Martin’s in the
Pines.
Sr Margaret was known as a free spirit and friend to all. She was full
of fun and shared her joy with everyone she met. She passed away in
July 1996 and in her obituary was perfectly described as ‘a source of
artistic and spiritual inspiration to many’.
In 1995, Sr Margaret Mary Batros penned this account of her own
journey to Sacred Heart College.
Monday 31st July, 1995
My parents, Roger and Saleemy, brought me across the ocean
from our small village, Kousba, on Mt. Lebanon, and I arrived in
Australia on April 24th 1910 having turned one year old. From
Sydney then to Cootamundra, where we lived until I was six. In
Cowra, my three brothers were born: the third one was delicate
and we left him in his little grave in 1920. In 1921 we settled in
Warrnambool where I attended St. Anne’s Convent until Easter
1924. My eyes were pronounced too bad for further study,
so I helped in our Boot Shop. I was very anxious to continue
my education, and hearing about a lovely Convent in Ballarat,
I gave Dad no peace until he consulted my specialist – who
was in favour- Ballarat climate suitable for my condition and a
splendid specialist in Ballarat. So via Connie Russo we were
directed East instead of West. From 1925 until today, thank
God, my journey has been with the Ballarat Mercies.
With thanks to the Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia and Papua
New Guinea Archives for their assistance providing us with material
for this piece.
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