NURSE Marie Clemetson admits knowing from early last year that she would be receiving an award from the pope.
But last Sunday when Archbishop Charles Dufour presented her with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal, the moment proved special for the 86-year-old life-long Roman Catholic.
“I felt very humbled,” Nurse Clemetson told the Jamaica Observer last Friday. “Archbishop Dufour just sort of put his hand on my shoulder and he said, ‘Marie, Marie’. That’s all he said to me. It just meant that he appreciated what I am doing and I felt very honoured.”
Clemetson was one of 16 Jamaicans who received pontifical recognition for service to the church in a special ceremony held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston on November 22.
Of the 16, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice was presented to 10, while the others received the Benemerenti Medal.
Also known as the ‘Cross of Honour’, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice — which, translated from Latin means ‘For Church and Pope’ — is given to lay people and clergy for distinguished service to the church.
It is the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the pope and, according to Catholic Church history, was established by Leo XIII on July 17, 1888 to commemorate his golden sacerdotal jubilee.
The Benemerenti Medal was established by Gregory XVI in 1832 as an award to soldiers in the Papal Army. Today, it is awarded to members of the clergy and laity for distinguished service to Catholic principles, the Church and society.
Nurse Clemetson was nominated for the prestigious award by her church — Holy Cross — where she has been worshipping since her teenage years.
“I was asked by Archbishop Clarke, who was then acting as the pastor of Holy Cross, to do a résume and I wanted to know why,” she explained.
“He eventually told me that I was being nominated for this award, and I said, ‘Don’t be crazy, why do you want to do this to me?'” she related.
Clarke, she said, responded: “Let me tell you something, they came to me and they gave your name and I thoroughly approve.”
The medal is icing on the cake for Clemetson, who has served Holy Cross in various capacities and who, because of her work with the Church, met Pope Paul VI during a Eucharistic meeting in Colombia in 1968 and at the Vatican in 1974 when she was president of the Jamaican chapter of Catholic Nurses Guild.
In 1993 when Pope John Paul II visited Jamaica, she was a member of a delegation that met him at King’s House.
Since the early 1960s, Nurse Clemetson has been serving St John Association of Jamaica, commonly known as St John Ambulance.
“At the time I was nursing with Dr Roy Levy, who was the commander for the Order of St John. He invited me to come and help [and] that’s how I got involved with the Order,” she explained, adding that she started with nursing classes.
Soon after, in 1964, she was asked to help with giving lectures. Clemetson said she was next invited to sit on the council and was eventually appointed principal nursing officer, which meant that her responsibilities spread to the entire island.
She said that about 1970 she was made a Serving Sister of the Order, and 10 years later was made an Officer Sister of the Order.
Five years ago, she was made Commander of the Order and, despite her age, is just as active as her early years in the service.
The sparkle in Clemetson’s eyes as she discussed her work with senior citizens, children and other people in need of medical care in general, dimmed as she recalled the brutal murder of her father, John Alfred, by gunmen in 1976.
The tragedy, which devastated Clemetson, her four sisters — Jean Gouldbourne (now deceased), Lisa Delvalle, Doreen Clemetson and Dr Shirley Cridland — and the other members of their family, resulted in her leaving nursing to run his company in Morant Bay, St Thomas.
“At that time, it seems that of all the daughters I was the only one available, so I went there and worked for about four years,” she said.
“But I wasn’t doing well. I was no shopkeeper, so we sold the business and I came back into nursing,” Clemetson told the Sunday Observer.
Since then, she has dedicated herself to her work, earning a Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service from the Jamaican Government and has earned the respect of her colleagues, many of whom are much younger than her.
“She works every day, even on public holidays she is on duty. She’s very involved,” said Alison Christie Binger, executive director of St John Ambulance Jamaica.
“I like it. My family complains,” Clemetson explained with a soft chuckle. “The team on duty, if they have a problem and they can’t get a hold of anybody, they’ll call me.”
Clemetson admitted that she doesn’t feel tired, neither does she feel the need to stay at home and relax. “I haven’t got to that stage,” she said.
However, over the Christmas holidays she plans to spend some time with her family abroad.
“But we’re going to have our Christmas party before I go,” she said, triggering a comment from Christie Binger that Clemetson does all the planning for the party.
Asked what she enjoys doing when she’s not at St John, Clemetson, who used to play tennis and badminton, said she likes going to the beach for a swim.
She still attends daily mass at Holy Cross at 6:00 am and will go walking for exercise. In fact, she said she has participated in every staging of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica Fund Run.
“Last year I didn’t do very well,” she said. “I don’t think I did more than two laps. I don’t know if I’ll do more than that this year [but] I look forward to the Fund Run.”