On October 7, the Feast Day of their Patroness, four Sisters from the Congregation of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary came to speak about their community to the Sisters at Maison Jésus-Marie. This visit was part of the project “Discovering other Religious Congregations” which began two years ago by Sisters Maryse Moisan and Gisèle Lalande, SNJM. Its goal is to make better known, Religious Congregations living and working in the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil.
With the help of videos, the four Sisters spoke about their charism, their works and their history. Founded in Rimouski by Blessed Elisabeth Turgeon, this Congregation has spread to six countries. As with many other communities, over the years their mission as educators has evolved, in keeping with the countries in which they are involved.
Besides presenting this overview of the community, Sisters Lina Thériault, Mary Mongo, Gabrielle Desrosiers and Jacky Abi Nassif each spoke about their current commitments. The first one works mainly with immigrants, the second one, who comes from Maine, U.S.A., works mostly with youth, and has already taught at Collège Durocher. The third one is now in charge of the maintenance of the house and daily logistics.
Invited by her Sisters on the South Shore, Sister Jacky Abi Nassif came to meet the SNJM’s and to speak about her unusual career. She has spoken at length to other audiences about her commitments. It is impossible for her not to mention one particular event which occurred in March, 2016. In fact, as an immigrant, originally from Lebanon, she became only the second person to be both a religious and a chaplain in the Canadian Army.
During the swearing in of 13 chaplains, one of whom was Sister Jacky, Captain Harnois declared “Canada attaches great importance to the role of army chaplain. This profession has a very positive impact on people’s morale."
