On Sunday 28 April, in Briouze, France (Department of Orne), Sunday Mass took on an unusual character: in the lively and numerous assembly were a dozen former Sisters of Notre-Dame -a congregation founded in this town- and several Daughters of the Holy Spirit, including Philo Ac’h, the provincial of France.
Invited by the parish priest, Fr Michel Renault, and the vicar general of the diocese, Fr Philippe Pottier, we joined the parish community to celebrate two events:
– The transfer to this church of a plaque that was fixed at the back of the Notre-Dame community chapel.
– And, a month early, the 30th anniversary of the merger of the Sisters of Notre-Dame de Briouze with the Daughters of the Holy Spirit of Saint-Brieuc.
– This plaque commemorates the laying of the foundation stone of the Communauté Notre-Dame, on 8 September 1852, by the then Bishop, in the presence of the priests of the Briouze deanery, Mother Julie Olivier, the first Superior General, and all the sisters of Notre-Dame at the time. However, 1852 was not the founding date of the Congregation. It was born during the French Revolution, in 1793, from the courage of 4 young girls from different parishes around Briouze. Their parish priests, forced into hiding, had asked them to keep the faith alive in their parish. Once the Revolution was over and peace had returned, the little group began to learn about religious life and, at the request of the parish priest, settled in Briouze in 1834; the premises soon became too small. The plaque informs us that, 18 years later, the sisters began construction of the current building and chapel.
Mostly teachers and carers or involved in pastoral work, the sisters ran primary and nursery schools with their own canteens and care centres in the surrounding rural towns. In Briouze itself, there was a secondary school, a domestic school, a primary school and a nursery school, as well as a small boarding house for elderly people living alone. The spirit instilled by Charlotte Delaunay, the foundress with her companions has remained alive in the communities of the Congregation in the rural villages: “Children in the countryside are poor, and no one offers to teach them about God and their duties. We owe it to these little children and the aim of our institute (and later of the Congregation) will be to teach the humble”. At the beginning of the 20th century, a community was created in the south of England and in the 1970s, another in Burkina Faso. Unfortunately, as with many congregations, the number of religious vocations began to fall sharply after May 1968, because of changes in society.
– In 1990, in order to maintain their missionary dynamism for as long as possible, the Sisters of Notre-Dame knocked on the door of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit. And 30 years ago, in Briouze, on Whit Monday 23 May 1994, after a 3-year process on both sides, the merger of the two Congregations was celebrated: that of the Sisters of Notre-Dame and that of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit.
We were very happy to celebrate these two events with the Briouze parish community, in the simplicity and joy of reuniting with people with whom we have worked together. A booklet Les Sœurs de Notre-Dame de Briouze, written by members of Les Amis du Houlme in 2014, has been republished to keep alive the memory of the presence of the Sisters of Notre-Dame for almost two centuries.
At the end of the Mass, a “pot de l’amitié” gave many an opportunity to share and recall fond memories. For the sisters present, as well as for Michel and Philippe, our two celebrant friends, it all ended with a simple but warm meal! The former Sisters of Notre-Dame who were unable to attend, for reasons of distance or health, were very much present in our thoughts and prayers.
Françoise LELIEVRE and Anne-Marie FOUCHER, DHS. Published on 1 May 2024
