Vibrant Canadian Catholic history

by Brian Welter, book reviewer for The B.C. Catholic.

WOMEN WITHOUT FRON-TIERS: A HISTORY OF THE MISSIONARY SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 1902-2007, by Chantal Gauthier, translated by Kathe Roth, www.carteblanche.qc.ca

Gauthier succeeds in showing the human rather than institution-al Bide of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (MIC), even though the years of the Congregation's greatest energy were years when institutional mentalities did take over in some ways, as reflected in the book's photos of enormous buildings in Quebec used for formation or administration.

This history of the sisters, though written in a professional manner with many facts to back things up, reads like an accessible family history. Photos, usually several on every page with captions, underscore the enjoyable reading.

Gauthier paints a human picture of the foundress, Mother Delia Tetreault (1865-1941), who started the congregation in Montreal, but only after many struggles in finding her way and after being rejected by other religions congregations.

The author offers much information on the social and especially religious background to Mother Delia, and how practices such as devotions and a missionary zeal, commun to Quebec's society at the turn of the last century, formed her spirituality In a positive way:

"Delia's spirituality was in fact serene and glowing. Her God was a God of love and tenderness: and again, although she was attracted to solitude, silence, and prayer, she was also drawn to the worldly life."

Mother Delia set up an apostolic rather than a contemplative order which had schools in Quebec modelled on similar institutes in Europe to train girls for a future life as missionaries. While vocations plentiful in French Canada at this time, Mother Delia had to compete with countless other orders dedicated to similar apostolic goals of evangelization, education, and missionary work.

However, thanks to Mother Delia's remarkable marketing skills and the initial enthusiasm of Pope Pius X, things got off the ground, and by the early 1920s the congregation was growing quickly and setting off for China and other points east, with missions to Africa beginning in 1948.

Gauthier traces the problems with vocations starting with the 1950s, though even in that decade numbers were still high. One significant change in that decade was the falling popularity of retreats for non-members, and the need starting then to soften up the retreats that were held.

By the mid-1960s vocations had fallen drastically in Canada, with some numbers being made up in the mission countries themselves, such as the Philippines and Madagascar. Perhaps this vocations shift to the developing world had to do with the important work of the sisters overseas (in contrast to Quebec where, starting in the mid-1960s, the state took over health and education from the Church). Gauthier remarks on the spiritual importance of the congregation's work:

"Like education, healthcare was a considerable tool of evangelization.... A longside schools, dispensaries, maternity wards, bush hospitals, and mobile clinics were organized."

As with other such congregations, it is remarkable how much was done with so few resources in such a violent century. The sisters and their faith were more important than money or political capital.