Following her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in January, Cabrini Board Chair Sylvia Falzon AM sat down with Melbourne Catholic to talk about the special honour, and her journey to Cabrini.

Cabrini chair honoured: ‘If you’ve been given a gift, you have a responsibility to use it’

Sylvia Falzon’s story is a modern example of Catholic Social Teaching in action. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year’s Australia Day Honours for her ‘significant service to community health, to corporate governance, and to the museums and finance sectors.’ Among her impressive corporate and community achievements, this daughter of Maltese migrants has been on the board of Cabrini Health for 16 years and chair since 2018, overseeing its strategic direction.

Ms Falzon says she was approached to join as a director in 2010, and accepted at least partly because of Cabrini’s mission. ‘Mother Cabrini [St Frances Xavier Cabrini] is the patron saint of immigrants,’ she says. ‘She was the first saint canonised in the United States, having left Italy to go to New York to look after many of the immigrants that were leaving Italy and setting up life in America. So, for me, that resonated strongly.’

Faith plays a ‘huge’ role in her work, and knowing of Cabrini’s work even before she moved from Sydney to Melbourne in the 1990s, she wanted to be part of the Catholic organisation. ‘In the Catholic faith, ministry plays a big role in my life and also, too, the sisters [the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.] We are very connected with the sisters, and you know, their ministry is extraordinary, and what they’ve done and continue to do is extraordinary.’

The not-for-profit private healthcare service provider, which operates in Melbourne’s south-east, was established in Australia around 77 years ago. Ms Falzon acknowledges that there have been many challenges during that time in maintaining funding and governance, but she believes having Catholic values is what gives Cabrini its strength.

‘That always gives us confidence that, with the right people, right capability, and I think also being very true to our mission—this is where the Catholic part plays such a key role in terms of what we stand for and just who we are. We have a vast array of different people who work in the organisation, different faiths, different ethnicities. And what people say to me constantly is “When I walk through those doors at Cabrini, I know I’m welcome, and I know people care.” And to me that that is by far the most important thing for us in terms of delivering the care that we need to the community.’

Ms Falzon says doing pro bono work—both as the longterm chair of Cabrini Health and a board member of its fundraising arm, the Cabrini Foundation—is an honour. ‘I think all the directors at Cabrini love doing pro bono. And really, for all of us, it’s an opportunity to give back. We’ve come to stages of our lives and done some amazing things, and we have felt passionately about this organisation, its heritage, its ministry and what it’s done.

There is a responsibility that comes with it to do more good.

‘And through my upbringing—my mum, in particular, said, “If you’ve been given a gift, you have a responsibility to use it.” I was incredibly fortunate in terms of my academic opportunities, which enabled me to work in some great industries and have a successful career, and I thought “You know what, it’s actually time to give back,”’ she says.

Her Australia Day honour is gratefully received, but Ms Falzon says it has made her especially happy on behalf of her mother. ‘My dad passed away many years ago. They immigrated here in 1960 with two very young children, didn’t know the language, didn’t know what to expect, and created a life for themselves. So for me being recognised in this way, actually, I’m happier for her than I am for myself. I just feel that for her to see one of her children recognised by the country that she emigrated to … I can’t imagine what that must feel like for her.’

With recognition comes responsibility, says Ms Falzon, viewing her Member of the Order of Australia award as an opportunity to inspire other people to contribute to their communities. ‘It’s now, what do you do with it?’ she says. ‘How do you make it meaningful, to encourage others, motivate others? There is a responsibility that comes with it … to do more good.’

With Cabrini soon to embark on a major redevelopment, Sylvia Falzon will continue to bring her wholehearted belief in the organisation’s mission and her governance expertise to the task of building the welcome and care she first felt drawn to through the mission of an immigrant saint.

Story first published in Melbourne Catholic.