Poverty holds riches for jubilee sisters

By Laureen McMahon

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Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, and several other clergy were in attendance to celebrate with Sister Agnes McGrath, 60 years a professed Sister of the Child Jesus, and with seven 50-year jubilarian sisters. All attended Holy Mass together at St. Mary's Church in Vancouver on July 5.

Laureen McMahon / The B.C. Catholic Sister Normande Bedard was among the Sisters of the Child Jesus who presented Archbishop Roussin with gifts when a Mass for sisters who were celebrating a jubilee was offered at St. Mary's Church in Vancouver.

Sister McGrath entered the order in North Battleford, Sask., after attending the Convent of the Child Jesus boarding school 30 miles from her home in Speers, Sask. She made her religious profession in 1938 in Sherbrooke, Que., then came to the west coast to teach. She trained at Vancouver's Normal School on Cambie St. at 12th Ave. and then went to UBC, where she was among the first religious in full habit to attend classes.

Sister McGrath's gift for music was put to good use in each school and parish. After she retired she became a parish worker in Prince Albert and North Battleford as well as an assistant at the Winnipeg Archdiocesan Matrimonial Tribunal. Next came some years as the animator of the local community in North Vancouver and service as a provincial councillor.

In later years Sister McGrath cared for her aging mother and volunteered at hospitals and parishes. Relaxed and smiling, never bored or lonely, she is known to her fellow religious as adventurous and is "very much at home with herself," said one of the sisters.

Sister Normande Bedard, who this year celebrates 50 years as a religious sister, was born in St. Eli d'Orford, Que., and entered the order in Sherbrooke at 19. She is a culinary expert and skilled group prayer leader.

In 1976, after several years in parishes in the Diocese of Saskatoon, she went to work for four years with the developmentally disabled in the L'Arche community in France. She stayed involved with L'Arche even after returning to Canada and has managed the L'Arche Thrift Shop with a team of five handicapped people and four part-time volunteers.

"I often discovered," she said, "that the handicapped challenge me to live in truth and allow the richness of my heart to live, and not to fear touching my poverty. God loves me in my poverty, because then His tenderness as the Father can live." She often quotes St. Paul's words, "It is when I am poor that I am rich."

Sister Bedard has lived in St. Mary's Parish in Vancouver and St. Joseph's Parish in Langley. From 2000 to 2001 she served as councillor for the sisters' Canadian province. Today she often visits elderly sisters in residence at Foyer Maillard and remains an active member of the Sisters' Association in Vancouver.

Sister Marianne Flory, originally from Humbolt, Sask., taught high school for several years in Saskatoon and then entered the Sisters of the Child Jesus in North Vancouver in 1955 after novitiate in Sherbrooke. In 1958 she returned to Saskatchewan to resume teaching at the Convent of the Child Jesus in North Battleford. Her many teaching years were divided between North Battleford and St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary in North Vancouver.

She earned a Master's Degree in Fundamental Catholic Spirituality from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh in 1976, and served as Directress of Formation for the Canadian province and local house animator for years. She also served as a provincial councillor for many years.

In 1984 Sister Flory was assigned to rural parishes in the Diocese of Saskatoon that did not have a priest. During her 10 years there she co-ordinated the diocesan synod, where her skills for organizing and eliciting the gifts of others and getting them involved were greatly appreciated.

Sister Flory participated in inter-church projects and was a staunch supporter of ecumenical outreach and justice endeavours. Her ability to ask the right questions, said a member of her religious community, enables others to understand situations better.

Although her eyesight has been recently failing, said another sister, "Her heart and soul remain vibrant and youthful."

Today Sister Flory makes frequent trips to Coquitlam for council meetings and always finds the time to visit the retired sisters at Foyer Maillard.

Another 50-year jubilarian, Sister Julia Ludwig, entered the Sisters of the Child Jesus after attending the Convent of the Child Jesus High School in North Battleford. Her formation was in North Vancouver and Sherbrooke and, after making her religious profession in 1958, she served in the Indian Residential Schools at Lejac and Sechelt, B.C., where she taught elementary school and worked in the library.

In 1976 Sister Ludwig moved to Manitoba, where she now lives and enjoys gardening and doing small repairs. She serves at a healing centre near Winnipeg, and her creativity has recently expanded to include woodworking, painting, writing, paper craft, and creating stained glass. In her spare time she has studied the violin and German, and has been a member of the Toastmasters Club.

Beneath her quiet exterior, said a member of the congregation, "Julia carries great determination, tenacity, creative initiative, and deep faith. Her favourite colour is green, which signifies her personality, which is rich and fertile, clear and vibrant."

Sister Marie Melling entered the congregation after attending the Convent of the Child Jesus High School as a boarder. She attended the Normal School in Montreal and the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. She loved teaching, taught for many years, and was a school principal.

Fifty years after making her religious profession, Sister Melling works with the Sto:lo people in Chilliwack, where her love for native peoples shines. She served in the Indian Residential Schools in North Vancouver and in Williams Lake as well as in the Burns

Jubilarian known as `joyful, ever-smiling person'

Lake parochial school. In the late 1980s she was on the Fort Alexander mission team in Manitoba.

Sister Melling has worked with new candidates for the congregation and the Associates of the Child Jesus and in leadership of the religious province.

"She is a joyful, ever-smiling person," said one of her religious sisters, "who welcomes with warmth and sincerity whoever comes across her path. She always reaches out to those who are suffering and in need of a listening ear. We are all grateful for her presence."

Sister Therese Orieux, another 50-year jubilarian, moved to Vancouver with her family as a youngster. She was born into a large and deeply Christian family with recent roots in France.

She worked for a few years, then entered the sisters' congregation in North Vancouver, travelling to Sherbrooke for her novitiate. After profession Sister Orieux cared for native children and teens in the Indian Residential schools and then taught at parish schools in Vancouver. She later worked at the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Native Centre in Vancouver and with the Sto:lo people in Chilliwack.

Today she serves on Seabird Island near Agassiz, where she assists the pastor, especially with the elderly and youth.

"She is a creative individual," said one of her religious sisters, "and is full of zeal for the needy and those who are marginalized."

Sister Orieux spent several years in France, where she served with the generalate in Versailles, which was facing the enormous task of moving the community and the generalate offices and archives to a smaller house in Paris. While in France she researched her family origins.

Sister Orieux has also served her congregation in Canada as formator of new candidates and she has completed leadership work for the province.

Also celebrating 50 years of religious life is Sister Gilberte Painchaud, who comes from a large French-Canadian family. She was taught by the Sisters of the Child Jesus for elementary and high school in Albertville, Sask.

After entry and formation Sister Painchaud began a teaching career in Sherbrooke, in North Vancouver, and in North Battleford, mostly at the high-school level. She served as principal for a number of years and was always well liked by her students.

In 1967 Sister Painchaud went to Liberia, in West Africa, where the Canadian province was staffing a mission in Pleebo. She stayed just 18 months, but the adventure marked her for life, said one of the sisters.

She served in leadership for the congregation and was for 10 years the superior general in France. She also served a second term as provincial superior in Canada. Trained as a spiritual director, Sister Painchaud accompanies people on their spiritual journey and has directed new members of the congregation in their formation process.

"She is a quiet and reflective person, but also displays energy and vivacity, and is fun loving," said one sister. "Her ready smile and sense of humour can win over even reluctant souls and spark dull moments into life."

Fifty years a Sister of the Child Jesus, Sister Teresa Phelan was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland. In 1955 she entered the Sisters of the Child Jesus, one of 22 Irish candidates who, from 1911 on, became Canadian sisters.

Sister Phelan taught elementary school for a number of years in Vancouver, North Vancouver, and Victoria. Over the last few years she has been at the service of her sisters, and continues to be a member of the North Vancouver community on 6th Street that was established after the sale of the provincial house.

Sister Phelan may be quiet, said a member of the community, "but she always offers a warm welcome and is always ready to put on the kettle for a steaming cup of Irish tea!"