Sister Agathe Archambault

"Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them." (John 14, 23)

December 27, 2013, Sister Agathe Archambault,
in religion Marie Marie-Georgia
went home to God.

She was 99 years old and had been professed for 79 years.

Born in St-Roch, Québec, she was the eldest of the 8 children of Raoul Archambault and Georgine Désormiers.

As the eldest child in a family in which the children were born every two years, Agathe learned from a very young age to be responsible and very discreet. Soon after obtaining her teaching diploma from the “Bureau central”, she entered the Novitiate of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. She was 18 years old.

Sister Marie-Georgia taught a total of 39 years, ten of which were at the primary level, particularly at École Ste-Eulalie in Montreal. Throughout her career she would often teach several grades together in one classroom: 8th and 9th grades at St-Anselme; 7th, 8th, 9th grades, along with being the principal at École Ste-Thérèse de Verchères; 10th and 11th grades as well as being the principal at École St-Paul de Scotstown and at the same time was the local superior at Cookshire.

“Sister Agathe had a gentle and ingenious authority and she never raised her voice. Her teaching was clear and methodical. She mastered her subject matter and had a wide range of tips for making obvious what seemed to be difficult to understand.”

Sister Agathe left teaching when she was 62 to take care of her mother who, at that time, was 91 years old. Six years later she returned to community life and helped out in the finance department for several years and then, for 11 years, she served as local bursar at Résidence Marie-Rose-Durocher. 

“She was a friendly companion, who was discreet, even-tempered, reliable, present and efficient in her work.”

When she retired to the Motherhouse in Outremont, Sister Agathe helped out in the small store, did housekeeping and worked as a receptionist. When Maison Jésus-Marie opened in Longueuil, she lived in the assisted living community with the Sisters in the St- André pavilion.

Even when she moved to the infirmary, Sister Agathe continued her inner journey of serenity and acceptance. At the age of 99, she was ready to welcome the One to whom she had given her life in complete trust!