Rev Mother St Tarcisius was given the name Francoise Salles when she was born on November 5, 1875 in Bordes, a commune in south-western France. She joined the order of the Sisters of St Maur, now known as the Sisters of the Infant Jesus (SJI), on October 23, 1895. SJI is a Catholic religious institute dedicated to education and the training of underprivileged schoolchildren.

She took on the name Sister Tarcisius on April 9, 1896. Her profession of faith was on April 6, 1899 and she took her definitive vows on  September 22, 1904. Sister Tarcisius worked as a nun in Marseille, a port city in southern France, in 1899 and later in Montagnac, some 215km  from Marseilles, in 1901.

In 1904, she left Paris, the motherhouse (principal house) of the Sisters  of St Maur, and arrived in Malaya to begin her work of teaching and nurturing young girls. 

It has been said that Mother St Tarcisius’ single-mindedness and commitment to serve in Malaya was responsible for the record progress of girls’ education. This education encompassed not only critical thinking but also moral values, character building, proper decorum and home science. Like Father Nicholas Barre, founder of the Infant Jesus Sisters, she believed that education was the best way for impoverished people to escape the vicious cycle of poverty. During her time as Mother Superior, convent schools grew in size and influence. Singapore had eight schools and Kuala Lumpur, seven. She was a Mother Superior for 43 years, 30 of them as head of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus in Malaya.

Mother St Tarcisius had but one aim and that was to continue Father Barre’s work and rely totally on divine Providence to provide for everything. She went where she was needed most, in the true spirit of Father Barre. 

From 1911 to 1923 she served in Kuala Lumpur as Rev Mother at Convent Bukit Nanas. In 1924, Mother St Tarcisius moved to Penang as the Mother Superior of the convent and head of the Congregation. She founded numerous convent schools in Penang and in the state of Kedah and educated tens of thousands of girls from Seberang Prai. 

In 1930, she set up Convent Butterworth at a rented house in Kampung Gajah with just 40 students. As the enrollment grew,  the school moved to a new building in August 1941 at the junction of Jalan Bagan Luar and Mitchell Pier, later renamed Sultan Abdul Halim Terminal. This new building was constructed on a piece of land that Mother St Tarcisius was able to acquire. Nothing stopped her from her goal of providing a suitable and large enough place in which to educate young girls.

In 1934, she founded St Marguerite’s Convent in Bukit Mertajam, Penang. The school had started in a rented house on Cross Street (now Jalan Arumugam Pillai) and later, in 1938, it moved to its present location on Jalan Kulim. The  school is now called SMK Convent Bukit Mertajam. 

Classes had to be disbanded in 1941 due to World War II. The following year, classes resumed when it was run as a Japanese school to teach the Japanese language. It was later used as quarters for the Japanese military. The school resumed classes again after the Japanese surrender in 1945. Over the next few decades, additional blocks were built to accommodate the growing number of students.  

On January 14, 1935, Mother St Tarcisius founded Convent Datuk Keramat in Penang. Her zealous work of setting up schools continued unabated as she moved from one place to the next. 

As the number of Chinese Catholic Sisters increased in the region, Mother St Tarcisius felt that education did not have to be limited to the English medium only. So, she decided to start a Chinese Convent school in yet another rented house in Penang with just 12 kindergarten and primary school students. This school is now known as SJK (C) Datuk Keramat. The enrolment of the school increased with the dedication of the Sisters and teachers and a secondary school, known today as SMJK Datuk Keramat, was later set up. 

There was no stopping Mother St Tarcisius’ zeal and commitment to the cause of education. The number of schools grew, producing students who became valuable members of society and who contributed to the growth of a nation.  She did not allow setbacks and disappointments to impede her dream of doing God’s work in setting up schools so that young girls could learn effectively and be well-rounded individuals.

During the celebration of her Golden Jubilee in 1934, Mother St Tarcisius said, “I am obsessed with the importance of young girls and the women’s influence in the making of happier homes and to a better world while seeking to maintain a high level of academic achievement in our schools. It has been our aim to prepare our pupils for the battle of life.”

Mother St Tarcisius was awarded the OBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) on June 23, 1936 in recognition of her contribution to education in Malaya by His Majesty King George V of England. The medal was engraved with a cross and the motto “For God and the Empire” on it. 

In honour of her investiture, a school address recognised that Mother St Tarcisius’ missionary work was pursued with but one end in view — for the greater glory of God and His empire. It said, “The years of your missionary labours have yielded up a rich harvest — that the King of Kings should send you, indirectly through an earthly sovereign, this token of approbation.” The school address also mentioned that this decoration was “a fitting token of appreciation of the government authorities to the contribution of the Institute of St Maur in this region”. 

Mother St Tarcisius was also praised for her generous and noble spirit and for her skill and sensitivity in dealing with others. She was generous in overlooking insults and injury and was quick to forgive. Her simple and unassuming ways and her unstinting spirit won the hearts of all who had the privilege to know her, including her students to whom she was a good role model. In Penang, convent girls were proud to be called “Tarcisians” after Mother St Tarcisius. It was as if they carried a little bit of her best qualities in them.

When she retired at the age of 80, Mother St Tarcisius was referred to as the “Reverend Mother Visitor of the Convents of the Holy Infant Jesus” or “Visitatrix of Convents in the Far East”.  She had been a “Mother” to some 30,000 pupils in 32 Roman Catholic convents throughout the Federation of Malaya and Singapore. She spent her last 10 working years at Convent Light Street in Penang and Convent Jalan Peel in Kuala Lumpur. 

After 60 years of indefatigable and unflagging service and commitment to the education of young girls in convent schools, Mother St Tarcisius was called home to the Lord in 1964 at the age of 89. She was buried at the Cheras Catholic Cemetery in Kuala Lumpur. 

The string of schools which she established still stand today as a testament to her hard work, sacrifices and the fulfilment of her dream to provide young girls with a sound education, and make them useful citizens of the country.