Marjorie Teresa Fitzpatrick was born at home on Allumette Island, Quebec on October 14, 1929, to Victor John Fitzpatrick and Margaret Elizabeth Hynes. She was the second eldest of their ten children.
Majorie attended high school at St. Joseph’s, a boarding school in Chapeau, Quebec. From there she went on to study at St. Mary’s Teacher’s College. Marjorie completed her Elementary Diploma of Primary Teaching in 1948. She attained her class “B” teaching Diploma for Elementary and Junior High School in 1968. In 1967 she attained a Diploma in Catechetical and Pastoral Formation from Divine Word in London and a Certificate of Catechetical Studies from McGill University in Montreal in 1971. In 1970 she completed the first level of the Counseling-Learning Institutes. In 1974 Sister Marjorie completed her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Theology from the University of Loyola in Montreal and her Master of Arts in Religious Education at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa.
After finishing Teacher’s College, Marjorie taught in a one-room grade school on Allument Island, followed by a year in Quinnville, Quebec. During that summer, Marjorie began working part-time in the finance department of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd and remained for the next twelve years, becoming Section Head of the Accounts Receivable Department. She then entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke on October 11, 1963, during Vatican II. She received the habit in 1964 and took on the religious name Sister M. Amadeus. She then attained her studied at Divine Word in London, Ontario, attaining her diploma in 1967. After this, she returned to Chapeau to update her teaching credentials. She professed her final vows in August of 1970.
From 1967 to 1970 she taught at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Pembroke, Ontario. After, she became the Catechetical Consultant for the School Board until she left to pursue higher education in 1972. Sister Marjorie continued to do Pastoral Work until 1977 when she became the Director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Pembroke. She held the position for twelve years. Her accomplishments in this role include organizing pilgrimages to the Holy Land, sponsorship of refugees, the John Powell T.V. series “Free To Be Me,” and establishing the Ecumenical Way of the Cross, Families For Prayer, and the R.C.I. A. Program. For her efforts, Bishop Windle presented her with the Papal Medal of Bene Merenti. From 1985 to 1989, Sister Marjorie also served on the Congregational Leadership Team. She then went on sabbatical with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, California. In 1991, the Leadership Team invited Sister Marjorie to renew the Associate Movement in the Congregation. Sister Marjorie was also instrumental in organizing numerous community programs such as the sponsorship of refugees, Families for Prayer, the RCIA Program, the Ecumenical Way of the Cross, and encouraging laity to become involved in the church. She continued this work, worked with the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Canada, and had a personal interest in ecological education. She was also heavily involved in Planting Seeds, a non-profit seeking to increase education in Guatemala.