Missionary Sisters introduce new biography
by Laureen McMahon
Compiled from archives which have yielded over 100 years' worth of remarkable accomplishments within Canada and in other countries around the world, the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception have joyously welcomed the launch of a new history of their congregation entitled Women Without Frontiers.
The 500-page biography of the congregation of religious sisters who have served in the Vancouver Archdiocese for many years was introduced in Montreal last June in French by Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte and the Mayor of Montreal.
Sister Cecilia Hong shows the new history of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception to Mary MacDougall, executive director of Catholic Family Services of the Vancouver archdiocese. Sister Hong, who is currently working as a CFS counsellor, calls the new book a "10-year labour of love put together by MIC archivists from different missions around the world."
The book, which is now available in English, is a "10-year labour of love put together by the MIC archivists from different missions around the world with materials gathered from 1902 to 2007," said Sister Cecilia Hong, a counsellor with Catholic Family Services in Vancouver.
It also, Sister Hong added, tells the story of MIC foundress Venerable Delia Tetreault and her extraordinary submission to God's will. At her death in 1941, 39 years after she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the Venerable Tetreault left her missionary family ministering in 13 countries around the world.
The foundress's life story is a fascinating tale of how one woman's desire to live like the Blessed Virgin and to yield to the presence, the enlightenment and the guidance of the Holy Spirit was eventually rewarded beyond her wildest expectations.
On Dec. 18, 1997, Pope John Paul II recognized the heroic quality of her virtues and declared her venerable in a ceremony at the Vatican.
"Using an extraordinary amount of historical materials and collected photos," said Sister Hong, "the book was assembled by historian Chantai Gauthier of Montreal, who divided it into themes to illustrate the many international activities of MIC missionary endeavours."
The biography, said Sister Hong, outlines how the order was able to expand into foreign countries while staying mindful of the differences which the sisters would inevitably encounter in culture and history.
"Our Missionary Animation Office in Montreal today continues to send sisters to parishes and schools throughout Quebec, and we are also invited to different parts of Ontario and to some Maritime provinces and Alberta," Sister Hong added.
