She is a tiny, discreet woman, sitting in front of her computer at the office of the MIC Missionary Press in Pont-Viau. Do you want to know in what issue of the magazine a certain article or photo appeared? Ask her! In no time, the information comes spontaneously from her memory or given a few minutes, she will retrieve it in her database. Never discouraged, nor tired, always ready to go to the end of her research, Sr. Cécile Martel, 94 years of age, is the LIVING MEMORY of the magazine. I interviewed her for you.
by Huguette Turcotte, M.I.C.

H.T.: Sister Cécile, you are surely the most venerable computerist in the community, perhaps of the City of Montreal or even of the Province of Quebec. How did you develop such expertise in this field? And since when?

C.M.: Perhaps my natural curiosity has led me into this exploration; I've always loved to read. I recall as a child I had received, at Christmas, a thick story book—it would follow me everywhere. As a young girl, I quickly exhausted all the books from our parish library. Today, since Google is inexhaustible I continue satisfying my curiosity and expanding my knowledge universally. For a missionary, that is fascinating!

H.T.: Tell me about your travels abroad as a Missionary Sister of the Immaculate-Conception. Before getting acquainted with the computer of the Missionary Press what culture or nationality came to your mind as you thought in terms of mission?

C.M.: At first, I thought of the Chinese people. I arrived at Tsung Ming, China, in January 1947. The MIC Sisters were there since 1928 and were in charge of a nursery, an orphanage and a dispensary. I arrived shortly after the war and for a long period of time the Sisters there had received no communication from the Mother House in Montreal. I and my companions informed them of the death of our Foundress, Délia Tétreault which occurred in 1941. It came to them as a shock! Once settled, I barely had time to begin learning the language, when the following year, a young religious Chinese Community was able to take over the works we had begun. We therefore left Tsung Ming to start anew somewhere else. For me, it was Manila, in the Philippines where I quit learning Chinese and began studying English.

In the Philippines, I worked until 1972. I will never forget my stay at Sapang Palay, 56 km from Manila. Many poor families had been evicted from government owned land and had been left on their own without any commodities, living in great distress. Thanks to a companion, Sr. Carmen Castonguay, who intervened on their behalf—a Relief Centre was built. There, the distribution of food, clothing and medication was offered to the population. The Immaculate Conception Centre then organized workshops in sewing; women not only learned a skill but were able to earn a small salary for the upkeep of their families. I worked a few years in Sapang Palay and up to this day I keep vivid memories of my mission there.

In 1972, upon my return to Canada, another challenge was offered to me; I accepted to be a promoter of our mission magazine, mainly in the Diocese of Joliette where I come from. We went from door to door, visiting families; I liked that kind of apostolate as it allowed me to be a good listener and to bring comfort to those who needed help. After 13 years on the road, I had to relinquish my work but I continued being active as secretary at the office.

H.T.: And that is where you were first introduced to a computer. Do you remember?

C.M.: Yes, it was a Tandy… in 1985. I began reading the manuals and on my own discovered how to work with this Tandy. I followed courses that were given on T.V. and occasionally I would seek help from our chaplain Fr. Fernand Gaudry, P.M.E. An expert in this field, he would find solutions to all the problems. From the very beginning, I was fascinated by the unlimited source of information that could be found in a computer. I felt the urge to create a database of all the photos that had appeared in our mission magazine, as of the first issue in May of 1920. In 2007, the 500th issue was published— quite an accomplishment for a religious missionary community of women!

H.T.: I now understand how you have become an enthusiast of the computer… at 94! About your interest in reading, I can testify to that because in 1953, when we were together in Manila, I often observed you walking around with a book or magazine in your hand. Later, when we began writing the history of our missions in China, your outstanding talent in research was precious. Among other tasks, you drew a complete list of all the MIC Sisters with the dates and places where they had lived in that country. And all this with an old computer that could today be a piece of attraction in a museum. It was quite a feat! I take this opportunity to thank you for your exceptional collaboration… But, do you foresee retirement pretty soon?

C.M.: I don't like that word if it means "doing nothing"… I believe it's a question of mobility and mental health. Recently, I lost my balance, tripped and fell, this brought about a change in my status within our MIC Health Program. Also, my hard of hearing makes social contacts more difficult. However, my condition does not prevent me from walking, with a cane, the long hallways of our residence in Pont-Viau and sit in front of a computer: that is where I find the freedom of my youthfulness. I still travel the world as I did yesteryears, and I thank God for man's ingenuity who invented computer science. I would like to continue many more years as long as there would be a computer close-by… and card players as neighbours.