There are several figures that are forever recorded in the pages of the History of Madeira and that deserve special esteem by the population of the islands. Sister Mary Jane Wilson's sculpture pays tribute to precisely one of these outstanding personalities.
This sculptural ensemble can be found in Santa Cruz Municipal Garden, a peaceful space in the city centre, dominated by the tones of Nature. The work is by sculptor Luís Paixão, and was inaugurated in February 2014.
The sculpture of Sister Mary Jane Wilson (1840-1916) thus pays tribute to this figure who arrived in Madeira in 1881. Although she arrived as a nurse, accompanying an English patient, she ended up settling in the city of Funchal shortly afterwards, living the rest of her life on the island.
As early as 1884, she founded the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories. She took the name Sister Mary of St. Francis and devoted her time to catechising children and caring for the sick and the poor. The sculpture of Sister Mary Jane Wilson constitutes, therefore, a final homage to this figure, who was affectionately nicknamed 'Good Mother' by the people of Madeira.
The sculpture of Sister Mary Jane Wilson, unveiled in 2014 in the Municipal Gardens of Santa Cruz, pays tribute to the founder of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories.
