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Dare to dream: IN THE CHURCH WE ARE, A RELIGIOUS MISSIONARY INSTITUTE MARIAN IN CHARACTER The Birth of the First Missionary Institute for Women founded in Canada (1902) -- While searching for God's will, Delia underwent tremendous trials and difficulties. Twice she wanted to enter other religious communities but both times sickness prevented her. What kept her going was her solid faith and trust in Divine Providence. At age 18 with the help of Rev. Almyre Pichon, S.J., once confessor of St. Theresa of Lisieux, and Rev. Alphonse-Marie Daigneault, S.J., Delia began to see the will of God. For seven years she prayed in solitude while recuperating from an epidemic. On June 3, 1902, under the special guidance of Rev. Gustave Bourrassa and with the approval of Archbishop Paul Bruchesi of Montreal, Delia Tetreault founded the first missionary institute for women. Rev. Bourrassa, before his death on Nov. 20, 1904, begged Msgr. Bruchesi to present the work of Mother Delia to his Holiness Pope Pius X in Rome. Finally, on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 7, 1904, Pope Pius X told Archbishop Bruchesi, "You will call it the Society of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception." The Beginning of Missionary Send-off: In the following years, hundreds of young women across Canada responded to Mother Delia's charism. Mother Delia did not waste time to pursue her apostolic zeal with audacity. The year 1909 marked the First Missionary Send-off of six audacious young sisters to northern Manchuria, China. Within the first 30 years, she had not only opened numerous missions in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and here in Canada, but she also revitalized the Propagation of Faith and the Holy Childhood in Canada. Due to her ill health, Mother Delia was never able to set foot on any mission countries. However, she was the greatest missionary at heart. In 1920, she launched the French mission press known as Le Précurseur (The Precursor). On Feb. 2, 1921, through the ardent zeal and influence of Mother Mary of the Holy Spirit, the Canadian Church founded her own Foreign Missions Seminary (Les Pères Missionnaire Etrangers PME). Today, 719 professed sisters are following the footsteps of Mother Delia and devoting their life in missionary works in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Haiti, Bolivia, Chili, Peru, Cuba, Malawi, Zambia, Madagascar and here in Canada. There are 64 young dynamic women of different nationalities in formation around the world. We have, at last, become an International Congregation of 17 nationalities, with diverse languages and cultures, but all living and sharing the same spirituality and charism of our dear Foundress. Today, out of 782 sisters, 247 sisters are non-Canadians. The MIC community has changed its yesterday's Canadian identity to today's multicultural reality. It is a joy to witness that the prophetic Dream of Harvest of Mother Delia is being realized! MIC Sisters in Vancouver, the beautiful city of British Columbia -- In 1996 we celebrated both the 75th anniversary of our arrival in Vancouver and our 50 years of foundation of Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in response to Archbishop Casey's request to care for the Chinese community. Currently, we are five sisters of three nationalities (Canadian, Filipino and Chinese) working in hospital ministry (Mount Saint Joseph Hospital), parish work (Corpus Christi Church, St. Patrick Church), teaching (St. Francis Xavier Elementary) and, myself, counseling at Catholic Family Services. For more information contact: Mother House (Montreal): 314 Chemin Ste-Catherine, Outremont, Qc H2V 2B4 Phone: 514-495-1551 Fax 514-495-8936
Web site: http://www.soeurs-mic.qc.ca/ |
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Vocations Office. Archdiocese of Vancouver. British Columbia, Canada.