Sr Maria Cornelia Speelman fdnsc,(30 April 1939 – 10 May 2026)

“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I am constant in my affection for you.”

These words capture well the inner driving force of our dear Sister Maria Cornelia’s life. They speak of a love that called her into being and accompanied her through every season of her life.

At around one o’clock on Sunday afternoon, 10th May, Maria Cornelia gently slipped into the loving embrace of her God who had loved her with an everlasting love, and whom she had served faithfully and lovingly as a Daughter of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for over six decades.

To Maria’s siblings Lydia, Leo, Catherine, Lucy and Joe and all her relatives and friends who loved her so much and are deeply saddened by her death, we offer our deep sympathy and love. You know well her deep love for you and her gratitude to you. We also offer sympathy to those who join us from around the world, especially, our Sisters.

Maria Cornelia Speelman, Cornie, as many fondly called her, was born in Haarlem in the Netherlands in 1939, the third child and eldest daughter in a family of nine. She grew up during the difficult war years, in a family that knew hardship and simplicity. These early experiences shaped her deeply, instilling in her a quiet resilience, humility, and strength of spirit that remained with her all her life.

Her parents, Tom and Maria Speelman, were people of deep faith, devoted to the Mass and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That faith flowed naturally into Cornie’s life and became the steady foundation on which she built her vocation.

It is important to mention that Maria Cornelia—Cornie, as she was affectionately known by many of us—was taught by the OLSH Sisters in the Netherlands when she was a young girl. At the age of seven, after hearing a Sister speak about the missions, she felt called by God to become a Sister.

And we all know how decisive Cornie was once she made up her mind, so it is not surprising that she never wavered from that call

In 1955, the family migrated to Australia, a journey that required enormous courage, especially for Cornie, who found leaving Holland particularly difficult. After two years, she found the courage to say yes to the call to follow Jesus as a religious Sister.

When she entered the Novitiate of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in1958, it was only later, on her Reception Day, with her family present, that she realised she had returned to the very Sisters who had once taught her as a child. She simply described that moment as “amazing.”

Cornie was professed in 1961. With limited English, she served graciously in community, assisting wherever she was needed; she was an excellent cook and seamstress. Cornie had a deep desire to be a nurse and a missionary, and with her broken English, nursing studies presented one of her greatest challenges. Yet Cornie never doubted that God would help her if she persevered. She prayed, studied tirelessly, learned by heart, and trusted God’s grace to support her efforts. Against all expectations, she not only passed—she excelled, achieving a Distinction in nursing and excelling in midwifery.

In 1973, her lifelong dream of becoming a missionary was fulfilled when she was sent to Papua New Guinea, the place she would call home for the next 18 years. There, among the people she loved dearly, Cornie lived her vocation to the full. With love, she was a skilful, totally devoted, gentle and caring nurse.

Since Cornie’s death, the outpouring of grief and gratitude from people has been tangible, especially among our Sisters in PNG. Cornie was so beautifully human—welcoming and hospitable. Her life’s mission was love. She loved purposefully, passionately, and inclusively.

Those who lived, worked, and shared community with her were enriched by her warmth, generosity, and kindness. Our Sisters in PNG remember her as a woman of deep compassion, simplicity, and quiet joy—gentle in community, and totally present to those she served, especially the most vulnerable. Often experiencing difficult conditions to meet the neglected, those needed urgent health care. Her dedication as a nurse came from her closeness to Jesus to whom she dedicated her life.

One story captures her heart beautifully. While serving in Sideia, Cornie brought home a three‑month‑old baby whose mother had died in childbirth. Without hesitation, she ensured the baby was lovingly cared for, by day in the health centre, by night in the convent, until the father could take the child home. It was a simple act, yet one of great tenderness, revealing Cornie’s instinctive response to suffering: to love, to act, and to trust. And there are many stories of Cornie’s

 In 1992, illness forced her return to Australia. What a time of suffering this was for our dear Cornie, as she had to leave her beloved PNG. She accepted her suffering with her typical resignation and utter dependence on Jesus, the one she had loved since childhood.

Although she missed nursing and the people of Papua New Guinea, she adapted generously, serving her community through cooking, sewing, and countless small acts of kindness.

When her health declined further, Cornie requested a transfer to St Joseph’s Aged Care, accepting her condition with her characteristic calm resignation. As her health deteriorated and she became more dependent, her constant response was, “If God wants it, it’s OK. I’m just so blessed. I’m grateful and happy.” Her relationship with God was everything to her—nothing else mattered.

Cornie’s final years, though marked by ill health, were lived within a loving community, sharing faith, fun, and friendship. She enjoyed visiting other residents at St Joseph’s, shopping online, sharing a laugh with the staff and having conversations with family and friends, and so much more.

Even from a wheelchair, her independent spirit and joyful resilience shone through. She loved going out; only a couple of weeks ago, she went to lunch at Maroubra Beach with her friend Kathleen and a staff member and friend from St Joseph’s, Kate.

It was at St Joseph’s that she was lovingly cared for by the Sisters and staff until her death.

We are deeply grateful to Tom and Maria Speelman and their family for the gift of Cornie to our Congregation and to the Church.

Maria Cornelia died as she had lived—trusting, peaceful, surrendering her life into the hands of the God whom she loved and had served so well.

Go in peace, dear Cornie—united now with the One who says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

Thank you for your faith filled witness, generosity, and kindness.

May your courageous soul rest in peace.

Sr Philippa Murphy

Provincial Leader