Pilgrimage to St. Louis de Kent, NB, August 28

September 6 2019

As part of our celebrations in this 400th birthday year, Sisters and Associates from Visitation Province went to St. Louis in Kent County in Northern NB to meet with the Sisters and Associates of Marguerite-Bourgeoys Province. What a happy day we had! Associates from Woodstock, Moncton, Fredericton and Miramichi journeyed to St. Louis where we were received with much joy and festive hospitality. We began with a meet-and-greet in the church; then we had a visit to the Grotto where a professional guide gave us a rich history lesson. We visited the beautiful statue of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys on the grounds and the Sisters invited us into the convent. From there we went to the Golden Age Club in St. Ignace where we were served lunch of fricot and dessert.

Language didn’t seem to inhibit lively conversation and of course, smiles and laughter don’t really require language.

After lunch we went to the church in St. Ignace for a prayer service. Associates had brought water samples from home; we put all the water together in a big bowl and immersed our hands as a clear sign of inclusion and solidarity.

We returned to the Golden Age Club for a sharing time. It was like a “town hall” where we were invited to speak of our efforts to live out the charism of Marguerite and especially to realize “going to the peripheries.”

Visitation Associates had brought bottles of pickles, chow, relish, jam and jelly as gifts to leave behind.

It was the dream of Camilla Vautour (Associate Coordinator, MB Province) and Marjorie Allison-Ross (Associate Coordinator, Visitation Province) that made this day possible. We felt we were making history come alive and we are so very grateful to these two leaders among us. What a Happy Birthday for Marguerite!

Eleanor McCloskey, CND