ST FRANCIS LEPROSY GUILD
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St Francis Leprosy Guild commemorates the death of
 former trustee and Hon Secretary, Sister Helen McMahon, FFM 
  ​
Tributes have flowed in since the sad news of Sr Helen's death on 8 May 2025. Her Funeral Mass will be held on 5 June 2025 at 11:00am in the chapel, St Margaret's Convent, Bethel Avenue, London, E16 4JU.
Responding to the news of Sr Helen's death, SFLG's Chair, Edward Reed said: 
​Please be assured of our prayers for the repose of Sr Helen’s soul. She will be missed (by many more than ourselves I am sure) and forms an important part of the history of the Guild to which she gave so much."
SFLG's former Chair, Michael Forbes Smith said: 
Sr Helen and I developed a close and enduring friendship over the eleven years that I knew her.  At first reluctant to see the radical changes necessary to save the Guild from collapse and always focused on the poor and suffering before bureaucracy and hard-headedness, she nevertheless always supported my efforts. 

Perhaps my fondest memory is from a presentation at one of the Guild AGMs. it might have been when I congratulated her on her 60 years as a confessed nun, for which she called me “you rascal” in front of Cardinal Vincent. 

​Sr Helen was, of course, a significant power in the FMM constellation in her day, having been Provincial in Scotland before being sent to Rome where she became Secretary to the Cardinal who headed the "Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples" as it was then called."
Claire Smith said:
​Sr Helen became a friend of our family. She joined us when I was received into the church and took a close and affectionate interest in our children and grandchildren. She was, of course, very good at keeping Michael on his toes, and that Scottish connection was important to them both. She was a most admirable person in so many ways. We talked often about our experiences in the East End, education and her service overseas. We will retain the warmest memories of her." 
SFLG's former Director, Kieran Kettleton, said:
She was a woman of great experience which she brought to the Guild. May she rest in peace."
SFLG's former Administrator, Sheila Pereira said:
Thank you for sharing the very sad news about Sr. Helen. I shall always remember her with a great deal of fondness and respect. She was one of the regular - and stalwart - faces when I first started as Administrator at SFLG in 2018. During that time we enjoyed a lot of “hot desking”, the latter not in the sense of swapping desks to use whichever was readily available, but more to have a chat and swap stories over a cup of tea or coffee!
 
Sr Helen was also my timekeeper: on her days off, she would call me and after our little chat, she would remind (insist?) that I went home on time! She would always enquire after my family, especially my elderly parents, and reminded me how blessed I was to have them. Couldn’t argue with that!
 
Sr Helen was proud and passionate about life and especially her journey through it which provided her with so many memorable experiences and lessons. That she shared of these - and, indeed, of herself - so generously, there is no question, if her contribution to the Guild is anything to go by.
 
May is a particularly busy time for our family not least because three birthdays take place within weeks of each other! This month will assume further significance because Sr Helen died on the 8th, the day after my brother’s birthday. So, when I think of Sr Helen it will be with a spirit of celebration. I do believe that Sr Helen, who lived and died in faith, enjoys eternal birth in heaven and they better be ready for this ‘Hon Secretary’ to join their ranks! May she rest in peace."
Former trustee, Robin Graham Brown said:
Others have said many things about Sr Helen already, so my only little contribution, really, is just to say how kind she always was - to me and, it was clear, to everyone else with whom she came into contact. As Michael says, sad as it is at one level, she will now be enjoying life far more than she was over the latter years." 
Former trustee, Claire Tuhey said:
I was saddened to hear the news of Sr Helen's death. She was such a wonderful person. I am sure that she is looking down on all of us from heaven and smiling. I say this with sadness but happiness for having the luck to have had Sr Helen in my life. She was inspirational." 
Former trustee, Gosia Brykczynska said:
​I think St Francis and St Damian of Molokaii ( today's patron saint) will be welcoming her into heaven... She was a great "fan" of St Margaret of Scotland, always a wise move. May she rest in peace."
Former trustee, Philip Newill said:
I was sorry to hear of the sad death of Sr Helen. She was a lovely Sister. A sensible and wise addition to the St Francis Leprosy Guild with a wealth of experience. We will pray for the happy repose of her soul."
Former trustee, Paul Leavy said:
It's very sad to lose such a kind person. I think Sr Helen's perseverance was admirable. She had a long journey to and from the Guild Office and kept going even when she broke her arm in an accident on the tube escalator. She wasn't too happy about many changes in various aspects of life and I recall one of her favourite sayings was "it's a great life if you don't weaken. May she rest in peace."
Sr Helen died peacefully on 8 May 2025. A Franciscan Missionary of Mary since 1956, Sr Helen taught in Catholic schools in deprived areas of London between 1962 and 1978. She was on the Brentwood Diocesan team between 1980 and 1986. She was Regional Superior for Scotland and the North of England between 1986 and 1992. She was Official of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Vatican City, Rome between 1992 and 2006. She was Hon Secretary of SFLG's Board of Trustees from 2006 until her retirement in 2022. 
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51 High Street
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