The "Halte Marie-Rose" – Marie-Rose Drop-in Centre: a Place of Welcome, a Community-gathering Project
On October 6, the birthday of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, the pastoral team of the parish of the same name, launched its pastoral project called the “Halte Marie-Rose”, a project enthusiastically initiated and nourished in the hope of “being Church open to today’s world.
Approximately fifty people had the pleasure of attending and listening to Ms. Chistiane Lafaille, pastoral worker and initiator of the project, animatedly express her great satisfaction at seeing the project realized.
Bishop Claude Hamelin also recalled the importance of places of welcome in order to extend the presence of the Church to the general population. Delegated by the SNJM community, Ms. Odette Côté, Communications Director, testified to the joy of the Sisters at seeing the spirit of their foundress reflected in this pastoral and parish project. Then came a surprise! Before his departure for the Synod, Bishop Gendron, greatly rejoicing in the realization of such a project in the Diocese of Saint Jean-Longueuil, sent a message of congratulations and support to the team of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher Parish by means of a pre-recorded video.
For Christiane Lafaille, the “Halte” is an opportunity to gather and involve the parish community of LeMoyne and Greenfield Park. As we know, the parish is gradually losing its places of worship. When La Mosaïque was founded, Saint-Josaphat church was sold to that organization. Last year, Saint-Anastase Church became the property of a developer and was demolished after 50 years of existence. And very shortly, Saint-Maxime church will probably be closed. . Faced with this eventuality, it was important to find alternatives to keep the parish and its parishioner’s people alive. The “Halte” hopes to do this while at the same time confirming the commitment of the universal Church to be a Church on the move, a missionary Church.
The Halte Marie-Rose is located in Ville LeMoyne, in the annex of Saint-Maxime church, on René-Philippe Street. Its mission is to welcome and be attentive to all people, without discrimination of religion, sexual orientation and age, that is, to all who feel the need for others presence, for sharing with others and being listened to in their life journeys. The “Halte” team is inspired by Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, who have been active in the parish for many years. It is hoped that the spirit of Blessed Marie-Rose will live on in the “Halte” and through the action of volunteers involved in the project.
Ten people benefitted from initial training given by Claudette Nadeau and Serge Pelletier, founders of the “Halte Saint-Joseph” in Granby. Since then, several other “haltes” have been established, notably in Saint-Hyacinthe, Trois-Rivières and some African communities. Long live the “Halte Marie-Rose”!
The official opening of the “Halte Marie-Rose” took place on December 1st, 2018, once all the renovations of the premises had been completed.
