SISTER CECILE MAURICE

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SISTER CECILE MAURICE 1914 - 2013 Saturday, March 9, 2013 at Actionmarguerite, Sister Cecile Maurice, Grey Nun, crossed the eternal threshold to meet her True Love. Born March 18, 1914 in Dollard, SK to Aristide Maurice and Alexina Jodoin, Sister Cecile would have celebrated her 99th birthday, nine days later, and 80 years of religious life in August. The 13th in a beautiful French Canadian family of 14 children, Sister Cecile is now anew with her beloved parents and 13 siblings. Sister Cecile had a very humble beginning. In her autobiography she writes: "In 1913, Dad had been told that there was plenty of land available in Dollard, SK. So in January 1914 he left Thibeauville (now Richer) with the family. Arriving in Dollard, to their dismay, all the land was taken. Dad and the older boys went 20 miles south to a place called Whitemud. There, lots of land was available. Dad and the older boys went to Regina and filed for homesteads. Meanwhile, mother, my sisters and younger brothers settled in an abandoned store, five miles from Dollard. My mother was pregnant with me. I was born on March 18th. It was snowing and blowing. Philias, my oldest brother, was asked to go for the midwife in late evening. He got lost BUT the horses brought him back safely to the barn without the midwife". Cecile attended the rural school in Whitemud and began high school with the Sisters of Notre-Dame-de-la-Croix in Forget, SK. After only two weeks at the convent, she developed an abscess in her right knee and had to go to the hospital in Regina where she encountered the Grey Nuns for the first time. She never did return to school. Instead she stayed home to recuperate and help her mother. Meanwhile, she did home schooling with the help of packaged books from Regina that were circulated to children of families with no access to high school. Along with her siblings, Cecile learned to pray from her parents. Her mother was their mentor and their only source of religious education. In such a loving and hard-working family setting, God was preparing the young Cecile for community living, meditation and attentiveness to the needs of others. In fact, in February 1931 she entered the Grey Nun Novitiate in St. Boniface where she completed her initial formation and moved on to make her perpetual vows at the Mother House in Montreal on August 15, 1936. From then on, Sister Maurice's itinerary was in God's hands. Whenever and wherever He called, Sister Cecile was sure to answer, "Here I am, Lord". And at the end of her life she could say with St. John of the Cross: "I do not follow my whims and desires. I have placed them in God's hands and consecrated them to Him." Back in St. Boniface, Sister Cecile completed her high school with Sister Barton as her tutor. Then she took her Nursing Education and graduated in 1937. She then consecrated her energy, her talents, her love of the sick, the elderly and the needy in St. Boniface Hospital, Fort Frances, Regina, St. Amant, Ste Rose and Chesterfield Inlet. Intertwined with direct care of patients, Sister Maurice also worked as Administrator and Supervisor in the above mentioned Institutions, was Provincial Superior in the St. Boniface Province and Mistress of novices for a good number of years. Amidst her varied and multiple responsibilities, Sister Cecile was a woman of peace, a woman of prayer, a woman of harmony. She would readily recognize the vulnerable, the weak and the marginalized in her entourage, and unassumingly, but graciously offer them help. Her humility, simplicity and love of the poor characterize this great and loveable Grey Nun who faithfully tread the road of compassion exemplified by Saint Marguerite d'Youville. On hearing about the passing of Sister Cecile, one of the Grey Nun Associates wrote: "She was a GREAT lady and I feel so blessed to have been able to know her for even just a short time. She's my St. Marguerite right here on earth. Just nine days short of her 99th Birthday. WOW!!! What a life she led. What a legacy she leaves us. She is my inspiration every day as I walk this walk of which they call LIFE". Besides her Grey Nun family, Sister Cecile leaves to mourn her nieces, nephews, and many faithful friends, especially Sister Rose Desrochers. The Grey Nuns and family wish to extend sincere thanks to the devoted staff at Actionmarguerite for their gentle care and to all those who visited with our dear Sister Cecile during her illness. The funeral mass for Sister Cecile Maurice will be held Friday, March 15 at 1:30 p.m. preceded by viewing at 1:00 p.m. at 151 Despins Street, Winnipeg. Interment will follow at 3:15 p.m. in the St. Boniface Cemetery on Archibald Street. DESJARDINS 233-4949 1-888-233-4949 www.desjardinsfuneralchapel.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 14, 2013