Maria Josepha was born in Haimen, Kiangsu, China on 15 April 1920.

In 1939 when Maria Josepha was 18, she followed her sister, Patricia, and entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in Shanghai.  Patricia and Maria Josepha were the first Chinese woman to enter the Society.

In 1948, with the rise of the communist regime, the RSCJ moved away from China.  The Sisters were scattered throughout Asia and Maria Josepha was sent to Japan.  In 1959, Reverend Mother Dorothy McGuiness offered to receive two of the Sisters in Australia and Maria Josepha came to Sydney.   She brought with her the gift of internationality, with the richness of her Chinese culture and her life experiences in Japan.

For more than 65 years we have delighted in her many gifts and blessings.  Maria Josepha was a very bright person and had an incredible memory as she entertained many of us with stories from her early childhood over 100 years ago.  Language was always a challenge for her as she originally spoke a local Chinese dialect, and was trained in a combination of Japanese, French and English during her noviceship.

Maria Josepha had a reverence for all things spiritual and it showed in her fidelity to prayer, and in the way she related to each person. Maria Josepha was always thoughtful and she was a very loyal friend who over the years, made many friends within and outside of the Society.

An extract from the eulogy given by Diana Hayes RSCJ at Maria Josepha’s requiem mass.