Called to Eternal Life: Biographies of Our Sisters

Called to Eternal Life

Enjoy reading these inspiring biographies of our Sisters who have been called to eternal life. These unique stories show how each Sister has played a vital role in the community, the Church and society by embodying the values of faith, service, and selflessness in their daily lives. Their commitment to prayer, community, and service has a lasting impact and we remember them with joy and gratitude.

Cécile was born into a proud French-Canadian family, on March 26, 1935, as snow thawed on the prairie fields of St. Joseph MB. The timing of her birth, around the Spring equinox, may account for the deep attraction Cécile had with creation – from the smallest insects, and most delicate flowers, to the magnificence of stars, and the grace of birds in flight. Cécile experienced the healing power of God in a unique way in creation. [Read more]

Patricia loved Peru and Peruvians from the beginning. She became fluent in Spanish and did pastoral and catechetical work. She was particularly involved with Family Catechesis, which served in the formation of Basic Christian Communities (BCC). In this process, Patricia’s own spiritual life also deepened. She found joy in her work in several Peruvian cities where RNDMs served: Lima, Ilo, Candarave, and Arequipa. [Read more]

Teresa was born in a log cabin built by her grandfather and her parents when they came to Canada as migrants. She was the 9th of 11 children in this profoundly religious Catholic family. Teresa had fond memories of her early childhood and the time she was able to spend in nature even as she did farm chores such as fetching the cows for milking, picking berries in the summer or just sitting on the farm machinery with her father. [Read more]

Germaine’s missionary activities took her Sandy Bay, a remote Community in Northern Saskatchewan for five years, and to Oxford House, an even more remote, fly in Swampy Cree Community for many summers. She also is fondly remembered in Cotabato City and Manila for the more than a year she spent in the Philippines. Everywhere she went she added more friends with whom she often continued to keep in touch. [Read more]

Rose-Aimée had a love of learning and throughout the years she continued to educate herself – always with the goal of better serving God’s people. The educational qualifications attained range from catechetical courses in the 1960’s to sacramental and pastoral theology in the 1970’s; a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Boniface College in 1973 and a 3 year Christian Ministries Program from St. Paul’s College in the 1980’s. [Read more]

At the age of six, Joan began music lessons, and when the family moved to Regina she continued her musical education with our Sisters at Sacred Heart Academy where she later also completed her secondary education. Joan quickly showed an amazing talent and love of music, a gift that was to be the hallmark of her life, enriching the lives of the community, colleagues, and her many students. [Read more]

Fran was an RNDM, a sister, an aunt, a mentor, and friend to so many. Underneath all these relationships, which she so valued and nurtured, there was a fierce tenderness towards the other. She had a big smile, a big hug, and a big heart! Friendship seemed to be the basis for all her ways of loving. [Read more]

Euphrasie was born into a profoundly Confucian family in Van Lam town, Hung Yen Province in northern Vietnam. When she was sixteen years old, Euphrasie’s parents sent her to Hanoi to study. When France bombed Hanoi, the ensuing chaos and danger forced her to return to her family, who had taken refuge in a “Catholic town” where the Bishop was her father’s friend. [Read more]

Aggie was the 12th child in a family of 14. She said: “I grew up washing dishes, stacks of dishes and kind of took a liking to it, so I continued washing dishes all my life.” She and her friend, Irene Oliver, after eating lunch at school, would go to the chapel at the Academy, not so much to pray but to hear the sisters at recreation in a room nearby. They would hear the laughter of the sisters and they both wanted to be part of such a joyous group. [Read more]

Born in Saskatchewan, Eleanor entered the RNDM novitiate in Regina. After her novitiate, she began teaching, and taught in various elementary and secondary schools in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where she often served as principal as well. Over the course of her teaching years, Eleanor studied at diverse universities: Saskatoon SK, Winnipeg MB, Windsor ON, and Laval, Quebec – and mostly in summers. [Read more]

Diane taught for twenty two years in various public and private schools in Winnipeg and rural Manitoba. While she enjoyed teaching, she also had an inclination to serve in Peru, to “cast her lot” with the poor and suffering of Latin America. As she discerned this call, she began to learn Spanish, and after considerable prayer, in January 1997, she set out to join other RNDMs working in Peru. [Read more]

Aileen was a woman of intensity. Wherever she was in the world, whatever she did in the world, she lived with intensity. During her days on earth, she had an abiding fear that she might wind up living a mediocre life. Today, looking back at Aileen’s life, we can say “little chance of that happening”. Aileen has a long and well documented history of achievements, particularly in Canada, Rome and Kenya. [Read more]

At heart, Cécile was an educator in whatever venue she exercised her call to mission. From schools to parish pastoral council, from working with sex trade workers to visiting “shut ins”, from sacramental preparation to marriage tribunal ministry, Cecile shared her many gifts and talents with generosity and gusto. In addition, she had a flair for the dramatic, and regaled family and community alike with stories of her experiences. [Read more]

Victoria loved teaching and this career spanned 34 years. During this time she often was principal as well as a high school teacher. Maintaining discipline was never a challenge for Sister. She was known to be regal in her deportment, knowledgeable in her subject matter and exact in her presentation. The students appreciated her story telling skills. [Read more]

Léa was a knowledgeable and meticulous seamstress. She crafted clothing for herself, and helped others with their sewing projects. She was also, a bountiful contributor of knitted mitts, scarves and hats to the Christmas Cheer Board or the Red Cross. Needless to say that all items were impeccably crafted. She was also a skilful cook, and offered that service in many of our houses. [Read more]

Teaching was a work that Mary Martin dearly loved and to which she gave her whole heart. She taught in Lebret, Sask. for 5 years, in Sioux Lookout, Ontario for 2 years and in various secondary schools in Regina for another 32 years. After retiring from full time teaching in 1987, she began tutoring students in the mysteries of algebra and geometry as a volunteer for another 14 years. [Read more]

Winifred’s family was vital and faith-full. In a talk she once gave, Winifred wrote about her family’s impact of her life-long growth in faith. She concluded the talk by saying: “… in the end, I always go back to the faith of my father and mother who taught me to say, ‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost’.” And then with her typical humor added, “because that’s how we called Her in those days.” [Read more]

Over the course of her religious life Jeannine served in many Canadian towns and cities in Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan as a teacher. She also worked at Villa Maria retreat house in Winnipeg, in a ministry of hospitality – welcoming people and helping them get settled. In addition, Jeannine worked as a volunteer with women’s shelters, with the sick, and with geriatric care at Tache nursing home. [Read more]

Patricia was baptized and confirmed in the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Byzantine rite. Patricia has been a woman of deep faith nurtured initially by her family and strengthened by her Catholic education with the Sisters at St. Michael’s Academy in Brandon and Marian High School in Regina. This faith was deepened and solidified through her studies in Religious Education. It guided her throughout her life’s journey. [Read more]

In 1985, Loretta was named by the Bishop of the Diocese of Tacna and Moquegua as a Director of the Hogar Belen Peru (Bethlehem Home), Peru. We as a Congregation began helping a few needy children from the area and soon the home mushroomed to include orphans, disabled, neglected and abused and little boys stealing in the market. Loretta loved everybody and she never refused to welcome people in need. [Read more]

Louise was the fifth of six children born in Canada to Joseph and Angela Oberhoffner, who themselves were born respectively in Russia and Austria. Her father was editor of a German language newspaper and her mother a devoted and long-lived parent and friend. A year after high school Louise joined the Sisters who had taught her and was given the religious name “Mary Angela of Jesus”. [Read more]

Eleanor had great compassion for the suffering that accompanied confinement. Between her experience of prison ministry in Winnipeg and later in Regina she spent some years in Lebret convent caring for our elderly Sisters. Later, in Regina, she became a hospital volunteer and also offered spiritual care for our Sisters who were patients at Santa Maria Nursing Home. [Read more]

Music framed Alice’s life, and was a carrier of the grace that sustained and nourished her long life. It was her love of music that lead her to meet the RNDMs in Regina. As Alice told the story, it was while her father was lighting the morning fire, using an old newspaper, that he noticed that the RNDM Sisters were giving music lessons in Regina. Alice made her way to Regina, and in January of 1934 she entered the novitiate. [Read more]

Anne was a much loved teacher. Her kindness and respect towards the children in her care was remarkable, and to this day, many of her former students from various parts of Canada contact the RNDMs to have word of Sr. Anne. As one of her former students recently said: “All I remember is that she was loved by all of us, and she loved all of us; we felt so lucky to be in her classroom, just a real sweetheart… She brought out the best in us.” [Read more]

Katherine served as an educator and an administrator in the volatile situations just after the partitioning of India, the formation of East Pakistan, and the eventual creation of Bangladesh. She taught and/or served as a local superior or bursar in Chittagong, Dhaka, Shillong and Haflong. To this day, she is greatly appreciated by the Sisters in Bangladesh as a courageous and visionary woman. [Read more]

Known affectionately as “Millie”, Sister was born in a sod hut near Lac Pelletier, Saskatchewan, sixth in a family of four girls and five boys. Her parents, Joseph and Anna (Hope) Knippshild, were both born in Westfallen, Germany and came to Canada at the turn of the century, bringing with them a strong faith in God and a healthy determination to educate their children. [Read more]

Although Florence never enjoyed robust health she lived life fully and intensely. She was a creative teacher, always having a host of creative ideas on how to make her classes more interesting and more fun. Florence was a lover of nature and expressed her appreciation of the beauty of creation in many of the poems she wrote and in her art work. She had a profound relationship with God, which she expressed in her poetry. [Read more]

From an early age Agnes felt called to be a Carmelite and yet she wanted to be a missionary. When the time came to make the decision she thought she could not live a completely cloistered life and then, she wrote later, she heard “from her parish priest Msgr. Chiasson, about the Congregation of Notre Dame des Missions which was then semi-cloistered and had convents in Indo-China” and her decision was made. [Read more]

In the 1970’s Jean followed a “Sister Visitor Program” in Ontario and later various chaplaincy courses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan which led to what proved to be the highlight of her life, working as a chaplain. Blessed with a warm heart, Jean devoted all her energy to supporting not only patients, but their families and friends. It was especially when death drew near that she seemed tireless in her presence and concern. [Read more]

Alice retired from teaching in 1978 and occupied herself with various services in the community, including keeping the local accounts and acting as auditor for the Canadian houses. She was an excellent cook, a skilled seamstress and a devoted gardener. Sewing for the Sisters, knitting mittens for the poor, making afghans, preserving the fruits of her labour in the garden – these were among her many activities. [Read more]

Throughout her life, Mona was active in various social justice initiatives. She also involved herself in 12 step groups, and was much appreciated among those recovering from addictions and their families. Mona had a gift for relationships. With simplicity, honesty and straight-forwardness, she met people and accepted them as they were with respect and a wholesome curiosity. [Read more]

For Mary there was always much more to education than book learning. She conducted school and parish choirs, organized choral festivals, drama and public speaking competitions and sports events. As staff advisor for an active Red Cross Club she encouraged students to assist at blood donor clinics, to volunteer in local Senior Citizens’ Homes and the Rehabilitation Centre, to assist in swimming programs for cognitively challenged children. [Read more]

Marion was the second child born to her parents, Louis and Ruth (Tittemore) McGuigan. The McGuigan family was close-knit and devoted to the parish of Holy Rosary Cathedral. Marion studied music from an early age and daily Mass saw her in the Cathedral choir loft, playing the pipe organ before her feet reached the pedals, having risen early to get there for 7:30, then rushing home for breakfast before getting off to school. [Read more]

At the age of twenty-seven Marie was appointed sub-prioress at St. Edward’s Convent in Winnipeg and from then on served in various positions of authority and responsibility in the congregation – school principal, local superior, provincial councillor, regional superior, and, finally, for twelve years, provincial bursar, in which role she was much appreciated for her business acumen and unfailing accuracy. [Read more]

In 1930, Mary Marguerite made her first vows and went to teach at Sacred Heart Academy. Ill health made teaching impractical for her and after three years she went to St. Gabriel’s Convent in Lebret and then to St. Raphael’s in Wolseley. Thus began her career as a “Jack of all trades” – cooking, sewing, laundry, housekeeping, sacristy, caring for sick sisters, visiting the sick in their homes. [Read more]

As a religious, much of Leonilla’s life was spent in the service of her community as cook, seamstress, portress, laundress and gardener. She was skilled at these tasks, and made their complexities seem easy. In addition, she found great joy in discovering opportunities to minister with those who were sick. Here her compassion for those who suffered shone through and nothing was too much where the sick were concerned. [Read more]

In 1966, Roberta was elected to the General Council. This, of course, was immediately after the Second Vatican Council when momentous changes were taking place in the Church. For four years Roberta was in charge of the community in Rome and from 1972 to 1978 she was Vicar General for the congregation which was steadily expanding into new mission fields in Kenya, Senegal, Peru, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. [Read more]

Mary Loyola’s life was marked by a passion for teaching. At every level of education she was remarkable for the joy and enthusiasm which enlightened her presentations and the deep faith which inspired her interpretation of literature, history and the religion which underlay them all. St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Thomas More, William Shakespeare and Gilbert Keith Chesterton were undoubtedly major sources of inspiration in her life of prayer and learning. [Read more]

Mary Charles was involved with the poor and needy in Winnipeg. For many years, she collected day-old bread, other foods and clothing, which she distributed to families in need. Every year she prepared countless Christmas hampers. She became a regular contributor of knitted caps and mittens to the Christmas Cheer Board. She visited many families and shut-ins. Her love and service of the poor was boundless. [Read more]

Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions

393 Gaboury Place
Winnipeg, MB
Canada
R2H 0L5

Phone: (204) 786-6051
Fax: (204) 691-0640

canrndm@shaw.ca