Trish Franklin, IBVM, a Loreto nun, is commonly regarded as a saint because of her total dedication to the poor and disabled, her work in refugee camps and in Vietnam. It is an accolade used when words fail to describe the wonder of her love.
To know Trish is to wonder at her work in developing the Loreto Vietnam and Australian Program, which has lifted close on 30,000 children into higher level of dignity, education and hope. She is an eminently practical woman radiating an infectious energy that puts us in touch with the ‘divine’.
How does a modern saint see God and religion? What spirituality and devotions sustain and grow her love and work? How does one from a close-knit family, who joined a close community life existence, find her human and spiritual sustenance in essentially a highly exposed, one-person life?
Saints are often cast in literature in an old-fashioned mould, devout and pious creatures far removed from our own sullied lives. If we regard a saint as one who is a boundless channel of goodness, a radiator of a love that is ‘supernatural’, one who points and leads to a better way of life for us all, then Trish well qualifies as a saint.
This book is a celebration of one loved by so many, a tribute to an indomitable spirit, and a record of the remarkable journey of an extraordinary person.