On Tuesday 21 July a celebration for the Sisters who died during the pandemic took place at the Motherhouse, Kermaria. Sr Agnes met with Sisters Marie André Servel, Marie Paule Lorgeaux, and Jeannine Kernion to gather their testimony.

Agnès Miquel: Today in Kermaria, you have just experienced something very important for all of you? »

Yes, I have been waiting a long time for this moment when we could say “Goodbye” to our Sisters. who have already made the great passage.

Saying good-bye to them together was important. This morning I felt part of a body of Sisters. I was very moved.

 

A.M.: Was there something special to see in the chapel this morning?

Yes, there were photographs of the 16 deceased Sisters. These had been placed in front of the altar with a small candle in front of each photo. The can

dles had been lit from the Paschal candle, at the Risen Christ. It made a deep impression on

 

me. Sr Michèle, our Vice-Provincial, read out the name of each Sister as her candle was lit.

“We are gathered for a funeral mass in memory of the sisters who died during the period of confinement, from March 10 to June 15. Despite a relaxation of sanitary measures, it is not possible for us to receive the families in this chapel (they would be too numerous) nor the communities outside. In the light of Christ’s resurrection, we believe that death is not the end of everything. We will take the time to light the paschal candle nightlights and then place one near each photo. The sisters will be named in the order of death. Was his greeting.

And in that moment, it seemed to me that I could hear the voice of the Sister or see her smile again.

 

 

A.M.: What was most moving for you?

It was the Hallelujah, because it was a festive Hallelujah. There was an extraordinary crescendo, and I had the impression that the Sisters were singing with us. You could feel the presence of each one of them with us, as if they were the link between heaven and earth.

 

A.M. : Why was this celebration so important ?

It was essential for us to mourn these successive departures that, for many of them, had been so unexpected.

AM : What was the Gospel of the day chosen for the celebration ?

It was an extract from the Gospel of Saint John, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. This is the path that our Sisters have taken. I lived t

his intense time in communion, in complete silence, in an atmosphere of recollection, in total simplicity.

I also greatly appreciated the fact that, at the universal prayer, the intentions were broadened: yes, of course we prayed for our deceased Sisters, but also for all the people who have died from the Coronavirus, and for all those who took care of them. The last intention was full of hope, because after the confinement, the world will no longer be as it was before. We have the future ahead of us, it is up to us to invent and create it.

A.M.: The families still couldn’t be there?

No, but a second celebration will be planned later with them. What was also important was that even the Sisters who could not be present in the chapel were able to follow the celebration on the closed-circuit television.

 

 

 

Interview by Sr. Agnès Miquel fj, Pontivy, France