ACADIAN SISTERS CELEBRATE EARLY
BEGINNINGS WITH SISTERS OF CHARITY
SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Fifty-four Acadian sisters travelled to
Saint John Oct. 23 to celebrate with the Sisters of Charity
of the Immaculate Conception (SCIC) at the motherhouse
they once shared as a single community.
The visit of the Religieuses de Notre-Dame-du-SacréCoeur (NDSC) came as SCIC prepare to leave St. Vincent‟s motherhouse permanently
this fall after opening a new residence nearby. The SCIC were founded in Saint John in
1854 and have lived at St. Vincent‟s on Cliff Street since 1865.
In 1924, 53 Acadian sisters withdrew from the SCIC to form a new religious congregation
founded by Mère Marie-Anne Cyr. With their first motherhouse in Memramcook, N.B.,
they focused on education of Acadian youth and later established their motherhouse in
Moncton, N.B.
“We are sharing another historic moment today,” said Sister Mary Beth McCurdy as she
greeted the visitors in St. Vincent‟s community room. “For almost 60 years, your sisters
and ours knew this community room,” noted the SCIC congregational leader.
“Their spirit mingles among us and within us . . . May all we experience this afternoon
strengthen and fan into flame the bond we share,” she added.
Sister Margaret Toner, a former SCIC congregational leader, offered words of welcome in
French and English. “For many years we journeyed together as one body and that bond
of charity has prevailed,” she said.
“The desire to build up the faith and well-being of the people who were struggling to make
a living for themselves -- and a future for their children -- was the spark that kindled us to
dedicate our lives to the service of God and the poor,” she added.
On behalf of the SCIC, Sister Toner expressed gratitude “for the discernment and
courage” NDSC showed in establishing their own community to minister among Acadian
people. She also praised the NDSC for their fidelity to the mission entrusted to them.
During a ritual in St. Vincent‟s Chapel, Sister McCurdy presented the NDSC with an
inscribed, marble-topped wooden table which remained in the motherhouse from early
years.
Sister Murielle Duguay, NDSC superior general, expressed gratitude to SCIC for the
invitation to share in “this historical moment.” She said though “it is a difficult moment in
your history . . . through difficult times we eventually see and marvel at the new life which
springs forth.”
“There is one thing of which we can be certain: We never walk alone in these times of
transition,” she added. “As Jesus said, „I will be with you until the end of time,‟” Sister
Duguay noted. The NDSC leader also announced her community will present the SCIC
with a sculpture created by one of their members, Sister Marie Hélène Allain of SaintMarie-de-Kent, N.B.
The ritual included proclamations from their common spiritual ancestors, Saints Vincent
de Paul, Louise de Marillac and Elizabeth Ann Seton. Monsignor Brian Henneberry,
rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and chancellor of the Diocese of
Saint John, participated in the ritual together with Associates of the Sisters of Charity.
The recent celebration included tours of both St. Vincent‟s and the new residence. NDSC
sisters also visited St. Vincent‟s in 2004, when the SCIC celebrated their 150 th
anniversary. Both the NDSC and SCIC are active members of the Sisters of Charity
Federation.
(Debbie Lizotte photos)