Sister Diane Belisle RNDM, died unexpectedly at Actionmarguerite-Taché Personal Care Home in Winnipeg in the late afternoon of September 12, 2019. She was 84 years of age.

Early Life

Diane was born in St. Victor SK on July 26, 1935, into a large faith-filled Francophone family, which gave the Congregation two members. (Diane’s older sister Rose-Aimée is also an RNDM). In her family, Diane became rooted in her Catholic faith, her language, her culture.

In 1939, the family moved to Elie, MB where she attended elementary school and later became a boarder at the Elie Convent, where she met the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions.

Entering the Novitiate

In 1953 Diane entered the RNDM French novitiate in Ville Jacques Cartier, Quebec, and began her journey to become part of the RNDM religious community. She made her perpetual vows at Sacred Heart College in Regina SK in 1962.

Tertianship in Rome

In 1975-76, Diane took part in the RNDM Tertianship program in Rome, and this experience opened her to larger worlds, initiating her sense of being a global citizen.

Sabbatical and Personal Change

She was committed to personal growth and in 1988 took a sabbatical where she immersed herself in PRH – a methodology of personal change and social transformation. Diane deeply desired to know her own heart, and to live her life as fully as possible. She took advantage of multiple opportunities for learning – workshops, seminars, public lectures. She was enthusiastic for her annual retreat.

Teaching Career and Call to Peru

Over the course of her religious life, Diane taught for twenty two years in various public and private schools in Winnipeg and rural MB. While she enjoyed teaching, Diane 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. This was another “life-shaping” time in Diane’s life. She loved the vivacity and genuineness of the people and the beauty of the country.

Return to Canada and Volunteer Work

Returning to Canada in 2003, Diane became involved as a volunteer in Development and Peace. Her years overseas had given her a heightened sense of the ways Canadian policy contributes to global poverty, and she chose to work for justice.

She was also involved as a volunteer with St. Boniface Cathedral serving as a communion minister to shut-ins, in Healing Ministries, in a Christian Meditation group, and responding wherever she saw a need.

She further committed to delivering RNDM communications to the Sisters who did not have e-mail – and rain or shine, snow or sleet, in all kinds of weather, Diane faithfully hand-delivered the communications entrusted to her.

Move to Résidence Despins

In 2015, Diane moved to Résidence Despins, and immersed herself in a community of her peers. In this new context, she appreciated having more time to read, to pray, to learn, as well as to visit with family and friends.

Diane was a very “social” being. She enjoyed being with other people, and stayed in touch with people in person as well as by post, phone and email. Connecting and reconnecting were great joys for her.

Cancer Diagnosis

Diane learned she had stomach cancer in 2018, and knew her time on earth was limited. She wanted to live her death well, to live her death consciously as another part of life. She stayed involved in the various groups of which she was part, until she could participate no longer.

Last Months of Life

In the last months of her life, Diane spoke often of her parents, and the great love she felt for them. She spoke about her birth in SK, her family’s early years in Elie MB, her interest in her family history, and some of the keepsakes that she wanted to pass on to other family members.

She spoke about her family members who had died, family members still alive, her vast network of nieces and nephews, and how important it was to her to stay connected with her family.

She spoke about her struggles to advance her education, and how important that was for her. She spoke of her appreciation for her vocation as an RNDM religious missionary, of the projects into which she had poured the energies of her life, of her hopes for her fast closing future.

Last Birthday and Tache Nursing Home

In 2019, on her July 26th birthday, Diane reflected that it was probably her last birthday on earth. As Diane’s health worsened, the two most important tasks of her life were to finish sorting her papers and to get to Taché nursing home. She said she had friends at Taché, and she had heard that they had good food – and that’s where she wanted to spend her last days.

So with a lot of help from the nursing and social work staff at Résidence Despins, Diane got to Taché. The Sisters in Winnipeg borrowed a wheel chair, and wheeled her across the parking lot from Despins to Taché on September 7th – a lovely, sunny, late summer day. Five days after she arrived at Taché, Diane died. Everything had been completed.

A Path on Which to Walk

The Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions provided Diane a path on which to walk for the 63 years of her religious life. Along this path, she was able to explore her inner life, pursue learning, discover more of the unique Word of God she was, and make her contribution to the life of the world. RNDMs supported and encouraged her in living her one unique life in service to others. She supported and encouraged us right back.

Diane Has Gone Home

We believe that Diane has gone home, guided by her faith and by the light of beloved family members, friends and RNDM Sisters who have gone before her into the presence of the living God. We imagine her being cheered across the “finish line” by those beloved persons, being greeted by the songs of the angels and the smiles of the martyrs. Journey well dear Diane.