- Eulalie Durocher 1811-1849 (Mother Mary-Rose)
- The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
- The Congregation extends from yesterday to today
- The presence of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the work of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
- Conclusion
Eulalie Durocher 1811-1849 (Mother Mary-Rose)
The foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, Eulalie Durocher, was born in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, on October 6, 1811. Saint-Antoine is in one of the most beautiful regions of Quebec province. Eulalie was the last in a family of ten children. Three of her brothers were to become priests, two of whom were Oblates. Two of the girls became Sisters and others were committed laity in the service of the Church. Eulalie was a frail child. Her early education was in the family. Later she attended school with the Sisters of Notre-Dame in Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, and then in Montreal.
From childhood, if she wanted something there were no half measures. After two attempts to join religious life, she and her father, now a widower, were summoned to the presbytery of Beloeil where her brother, Théophile, was pastor. From 1831 to 1843 she devoted herself to work in the presbytery and the parish where she became a “pastoral worker” as we might say today.
At twenty years of age, inspired by faith and charity, and with the help of Mélodie Dufresne, a friend who lived with her, Eulalie exercised her talent for organization and education. She helped her brother in the preparation of the festivals, the formation of young people, in visiting families when the need arose, listening to priests who were received in the presbytery because they were tired or ill. She worked with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in their mission of evangelization when they arrived in Montreal and later in Saint-Hilaire-de-Rouville in 1841. They called her their “third missionary.” Under their direction she founded a Congregation of the Children of Mary to which about one hundred girls belonged and of which she was president. That extended her missionary activity to the countryside and the surrounding parishes. Soon there was a noticeable transformation in families. Her close relationship with God in prayer increased her influence and her plans tenfold. When the time came for her to leave the presbytery and go to Longueuil in 1843, the parishioners had already dubbed her affectionately “the saint of Beloeil”.
The Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
During the 1840s Bishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal was actively trying to recruit French religious communities to help in the education of young people in his diocese. He was aware of the painful reality of poor children who were deprived of any form of religious instruction. Already he had begun an evangelization project animated by Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson. The great need was to counteract the harmful effects of religious ignorance and alcoholism. Eulalie Durocher and her companion, Mélodie Dufresne, took part in that mission and it was successful.
Gradually, Mademoiselle Durocher began to realize the good that could be done by directing young women whose vocation was to live in the world but she understood equally well that much good could only be done by a religious congregation. She explained her views to Father Adrien Telmon, the Oblate of Mary Immaculate who was her spiritual director. He was very pleased with what she told him and he suggested that she found a community of teaching Sisters. However, Eulalie did not consider that she herself should be the foundress. She preferred to combine forces with Father Telmon to ask for some Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary from Marseilles who were under the authority of Bishop Eugene de Mazenod. She was prepared to pay the expenses of the Sisters who would come from France. Mélodie Dufresne and she herself would be the first two Canadian candidates.
The plan proved pleasing to Father Louis Moïse Brassard, pastor of Longueuil who was anxious to have a convent in his parish. The question was now put to Bishop Bourget who was very pleased with idea and gave his approval. Even before the reply came back from France, a property was purchased in Longueuil with a house to accommodate the Sisters and provide a nice chapel. However, when the Sisters in Marseilles were approached with the plan they would not agree to come to Canada.
On being informed of the situation, Bishop de Mazenod interceded with the superior in Marseilles, Mother Mary of Saint-Augustine. That did not change anything. He wrote to Bishop Bourget on August 10, 1843, suggesting that the work should begin by the two persons from Canada joining the community in France.
When the Durocher family heard of this result and realized that Eulalie was ready to take up the challenge, the objections came one after another. Eulalie was now thirty-one years of age. Could she not make her own decisions? Her brother, Father Théophile, did not see it that way and there were a thousand reasons for his opposition.
This was the most critical moment in the spiritual journey of Eulalie. She was called all sorts of names, even in the presence of visitors: mad, illumined, bigoted, neglectful with regard to her old father, etc. Father Théophile even went so far as to reduce the number of times Eulalie could receive Communion, which proved to be the most painful of the trials she had to suffer. She suffered in silence but remained calm in spite of everything. God was putting her to the test but she never lost sight of the ardent desire she had to belong to him.
One day the idea came to her to go and speak with her brother, Eusèbe, o.m.i., in the confessional. His words were: “You could work out your salvation with the Grey Nuns but you would not be doing half the good you are doing in Longueuil; you must wait and be prepared for all sorts of suffering.”
Suddenly Eulalie felt overcome with peacefulness and burning with zeal. She would consecrate herself to God in a community that would allow her to suffer, as did her divine model. She could now happily carry on with her plan.
On October 16, 1843, Eulalie went to Longueuil where the new residence of the Oblate Fathers was situated, to be present at the religious profession of her brother Eusèbe. In the afternoon, Bishop Bourget took advantage of the occasion to discuss the plan for a foundation with the Oblate Fathers, with Father Brassard who was pastor of Longueuil and with Eulalie herself. The bishop wanted the new community of teachers to be in Longueuil and he invited Eulalie Durocher to devote her efforts to it together with the two ladies, Mélodie Dufresne and Henriette Céré. This was the long awaited and decisive invitation. On October 28, 1843 the dream of the three pioneering ladies came true. The location was the school of the Fabrique, situated almost in front of the church of Saint-Antoine where Miss Céré was teaching. Their formation began with a three-day retreat directed by Father Honorat, o.m.i. and Father Telmon, o.m.i.
The Rule which the future religious were to follow was an extract adapted from the Oblate Rule since they had not received a copy of the Constitutions of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Marseilles In this humble stone-built, two storey convent measuring 37 foot by 31, about sixty people moved around during the day and 17 slept in the low-ceilinged and narrow rooms. It was an adventure that required quite a lot of self-denial, but there was a spirit of joy and unity in the house.
On February 28, 1844, the first period of formation had been completed. The three young ladies took the first important step in religious life. They began their novitiate and they changed habit and name. The model of the habit had not arrived from Marseilles but every effort was made to reproduce it faithfully. Present for the occasion were: Father Honorat, the Oblate superior, Father Jean-François Allard, chaplain to the convent, Father Brassard, pastor of Longueuil and Father Théophile Durocher, Eulalie’s brother. The other candidates and some students were also present. Bishop Bourget proclaimed the new names adopted by the novices: Henriette Céré took the name Marie-Madeleine, Marie-Joseph (Mélanie) Dufresne took Marie Agnès and Mélanie-Eulalie Durocher took Sister Marie-Rose.
On August 4, 1844, the group moved house to the “big convent” purchased for them by Father Brassard. The launch had been made and the community grew with surprising speed. In September 1844, they received thirty-three boarders and eighty day-pupils. On December 8, 1844, the three foundresses made their religious profession and the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary was canonically erected. In the afternoon, Sister Marie-Rose was appointed superior. The Sisters “were jubilant” at the choice.
As the first person in charge of the convent in Longueuil, Sister Marie-Rose was attentive to persons and events. She was discerning in the organisation of the community and the work of teaching. She would not have been able to accomplish her task without the close cooperation of her Sisters and helpers, but especially of her ecclesiastical superiors, the representatives of the schools Committee of the town of Longueuil, not to speak of the help received from Bishop Bourget, the Oblate priests and the local pastor, Father Brassard.
Thanks to the zeal of the notary, Mr. Louis Lacoste, the Congregation was incorporated civilly on March 17, 1845 and continued to flourish. Fully aware of her limitations in the academic field, Mother Marie-Rose entrusted the formation of the teachers to Father Allard. She also appealed to the Brothers of the Christian Schools who shared their well-tried teaching methods. Considering the religious ignorance in the area, Marie-Rose attached great importance to Christian formation and left nothing undone to promote it. Public examinations were the criteria by which parents, religious and civil authorities would be able to judge the quality of the programs, the work of the teachers and the progress of the pupils. The newspapers of the time make more than one reference to it.
An undertaking such as the convent in Longueuil and the founding of a community could not proceed without trials. The greatest of these and the most insidious for Mother Marie-Rose was the underhand work of Father Charles Chiniquy. He had been refused entrance to the Oblates and access to the convent in Longueuil and so he took refuge with the pastor, Father Brassard whom he turned against the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. With remarkable discernment and wisdom, Mother Marie-Rose dealt with the numerous issues created by this situation. The survival of the Congregation was at stake. Deliverance finally came through the intervention of Bishop Bourget who became aware of the malice and calumnies of Chiniquy and dismissed him from his functions.
Gradually peace returned to the convent, but Mother Marie-Rose’s health began to cause concern. A further blow was added to her suffering; the Oblates of Mary Immaculate would have to abandon their service to the convent and would be replaced by a Canadian diocesan priest. In spite of care and medical treatment, she died on October 6, 1849. She was only thirty-eight years of age and had been six years in religious life. The suffering of the nascent community can well be imagined. They already had four houses and forty-four members.
One of the students, who later became a Sister herself, described the funeral as a real celebration:
“October 8, 1848 was a beautiful sunny day. The whole population was present with the deepest respect. The singing was solemn; the coffin was decorated with flowers and was carried in triumph at the head of the procession, because the whole parish had come to the funeral.”
This witness is evidence that, for the parishioners of Longueuil, Mother Marie-Rose had been an example of faith and love similar to her who had been called “the saint of Beloeil” in 1840. She was beatified by Pope John-Pail II on May 23, 1982. The virtue that was most characteristic of her was her charity. Her spirituality and her apostolic zeal was rooted in the words of Jesus: “I have come to cast fire on the earth, and how I long for it to be kindled” (Lk, 12, 49).
From 1925 to 2004 the remains of Mother Marie-Rose were kept in the mother house of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Montreal. However, this property was sold to the University of Montreal in 2003. The tomb was transferred to the co-cathedral of Longueuil on May 1, 2004. There, a magnificent chapel was prepared in her honour and is accessible to the devotion of the people of God.
“What remains of you, Marie-Rose
is much more than just a body
placed in a new tomb.
It is the joy of giving you
To the universal Church.”
The Congregation extends from yesterday to today
Mother Marie-Rose’s heart was aflame with apostolic zeal and the love of God, longing to bring the Good News to the world. This is the inheritance she has left to her daughters. At the request of bishops and pastors, schools and convents were opened in many villages and towns in Quebec, in the Eastern part of the United States, in Ontario, in Manitoba, in South Africa, in Cameroon, in Niger, Japan, Brazil, Peru, Haiti, and recently in Vietnam.
The membership of the Congregation went from 44 (1849), to 293 (1873), to 727 (1895). 1,117 (1926), 4,211 (1966). In 1876, Father Telmon wrote: “I marvel at the prodigious development of this community which began in such a small way in Longueuil. That is the best proof of the holiness of Mother Marie-Rose.”
Nevertheless, the Institute of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, like many others of its kind, has been greatly influenced by the changes that have taken place in society between 1966 and 2004. Numbers have decreased considerably and from 4,211 they are now 1,425 of whom 90 are in Lesotho. In 160 years the Congregation has given 7,000 Sisters to the Church. Beside, there have been 500 men and women associates who live the spirituality of the Congregation and its mission.
Whether in Saint-Antoine, in Beloeil or in Longueuil, Eulalie Durocher (Mother Marie-Rose) sought nothing other than the liberation of people. Today, for the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, that liberation is brought about, not so much by teaching, but by activities connected with justice, the recognition of human dignity, the struggle against poverty, illiteracy, the struggle against violence committed against women and children, the needs of emigrants etc. Pastoral work is a major commitment for many. This is the charism of the Congregation that still remains the criterion of mission for the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
Faithful to the spirit of our foundress, we are a community of women religious consecrated to God, to the names of Jesus and Mary, and through our lives, we want to proclaim the primacy of the love of God. Inspired by an active charity, we cooperate in the education ministry of the Church to promote a Christian education, especially in matters of faith, and with special care for the poor and the marginalized.
The presence of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the work of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
The preponderant role played by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the foundation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary has already been mentioned. That role was both spiritual and pedagogical. Father Pierre Duchaussois, o.m.i., who wrote the Life of Mother Marie-Rose in 1931 under the title Rose du Canada (The Rose of Canada) mentions that the only spiritual directors she had, from the deciding time of her vocation until her death, were Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Many of the missions founded by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary provided the occasion for a precious cooperation with the Oblates. It will be sufficient to mention just two of the most outstanding ones. In 1874 the community opened a mission in Manitoba. In a letter to Bishop Taché, Mother Stanislaus wrote: “This foundation is the first tribute of acknowledgement to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate for all they have done for us at the beginning of our little religious society.”
In 1931, six missionary Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary embarked on the “Calumet” for the journey to Basutoland (Lesotho), that little country in Africa that was evangelized long ago by Bishop Allard, o.m.i. That was a fruitful mission, because today the autonomous province has 90 native Sisters who are continuing the work of Mother Marie-Rose in faraway Southern Africa.
There are other connections also which deserve to be noted. In 1895, Father Louis Soullier, superior general, and Mother Jean-Baptiste of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, signed a solemn pact for an exchange of spiritual goods between the two religious families.
Over a period of one hundred years the annual retreat of the Sisters was preached in alternate years by an Oblate and a Jesuit. The office of chaplain to the mother house of the Sisters in Outremont, built in 1925, was held by an Oblate over a period of 60 years, as was also that of procurator to the Holy See which is still the assignment of an Oblate as it has been for twenty-five years. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been postulators of the Cause of Mother Marie-Rose and it was Father Angelo Mitri, o.m.i. who succeeded in bringing about her beatification on May 23, 1982. We will never forget the very moving ceremony in Saint Peter’s, Rome, and the warm reception given afterwards in the gardens of the General House of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
Conclusion
One hundred and seventeen years after her death, the Treatise on her virtues (Super virtutibus, p. 101), prepared for her beatification, acknowledged that Mother Marie-Rose was a “forerunner” of the religious values promoted by Vatican II. In the directives she issued, she is seen as a messenger of a new era. There we have a renewed synthesis of religious, social and cultural values, a new outlook on truths that are fundamental and eternal. It is not surprising that in the judgement passed on this genuine daughter of the Church, the promoters of her cause should have recommended that she be held up publicly as a model for our times.
The fire of charity that burned in the heart of Mother Marie-Rose continues to radiate in our day and has crossed many frontiers by educating young people and adults. It is easy to like this simple and imitable spirituality. Today, as in the past, this “Rose with a heart on fire” continues to enlighten and to warm hearts thirsting for love, for peace and for freedom.
Yolande Laberge, s.n.j.m.
