En route to Canada   The crossing   Departure for Sainte-Adélaïde de Pabos 
 A Letter Instead of a Trip   Letter From Mother Marie-Fidèle   School opening 
Second  Departure to Canada   Arrival of the Second Group   Stay at Halifax   A trip to Rimouski 
  Letter March 26, 1903     1897, A difficult end of year    October 9, 1897   On the way to England 
  Arrival in Minehead    A decisive meeting   Seeking Answers to Puzzling Questions
 Sr. Marie de Jésus, delegate of Mother Marie Fidèle   From on attempt to the next  New attempts
Endeavors of Mgr. F.-X. Bossé   Unusual offers   Mgr L-N Bégin Accepts the SCSL
The North American Branch Takes Root

  

Silence from the Rimouski Diocese was heavy.  England proved to be so welcoming 
why does not Canada open its doors to us?  Mother Marie Fidèle did not give up.

On April 10, 1903, Mother Marie Fidèle decided to write to the Archbishop of Quebec 
to beg him on behalf of his friendship for her dear cousin, Mgr. Bécel,  
to come to their assistance.

 

Letter from Mother Marie-Fidèle to Mgr Louis-Nazaire Bégin

Vannes, April 10,  1903

Monsignor,  

My two “Canadian” religious who were honored and fortunate to meet you in November 1902, informed me of the kind and fatherly welcome they received from Your Grace. Should I have listened to my heart, I would have written to you immediately to express my gratitude! Today, Monsignor, I appeal to your fatherly kindness in full confidence: Our Blessed Lord graces me with a fragment of his cross!

Mgr Jean-Marie Bécel

Mgr. Jean-Marie Bécel (1825-1897) was bishop of Vannes 
from 1866 to 1897
and superior of the Congregation. 
He was first cousin of 
Mother Marie Fidèle.

Many of our houses are closed! I must find safe places for my religious. Naturally, I have been thinking about you, Monsignor. I say naturally, please excuse me, I am asking in memory of Mgr. Bécel, my venerable cousin whom you counted among your best friends. It seems that from heaven above, where I believe his soul to be, he pleads his venerable friend to help his dear cousin for whom he has been successively a brother and a father. Named Bishop of Vannes, he assumed the leadership of our Congregation and now I have this responsibility! Oh! How I miss him!

It is in his name and in mine that I am asking you, Monsignor, if you would be willing to accept some Sisters in your archdiocese: they are not burdensome; they are willing to work; we have a simple lifestyle. The aim of our Institute is the education of young girls, especially the poor. Dear Sister Candide de Jésus, a religious whom you hold in high esteem, has been raised in one of our houses; she could, if needed, tell you about the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis. If your Grace could give us any hope we would make some arrangements for the end of the school year; they {French Government Officials} tolerate our presence in some of our schools until July or August.

I feel truly hopeful, Monsignor, and I am inclined to share with you my great anxieties: Monsignor, the Bishop of Rimouski, does not allow the Sisters to remain permanently at St. Adelaide de Pabos, where they are loved and respected by parents and children alike. The good pastor of the parish, Mgr. Bossé, has done everything he could to pressure his Bishop who persists in refusing to admit members of a third congregation in his diocese. Our Sisters are committed to teach until the end of the year. Then, they will have to find shelter somewhere else. You had foretold crosses, Monsignor, they remember and say: “Long live Jesus and his Cross!”

I wish to express my deep respect and sincere gratitude, Monsignor, for your kind-heartedness toward my “daughters” in Christ and for the consideration that my heart dares to hope from you, your very humble servant (RCG) 
Sr. Marie Fidèle
General Superior

*  Mgr. Jean-Marie Bécel and Mgr. Louis-Nazaire Bégin became acquainted when they were studying in Rome.


The Archbishop sent a good letter in reply; but there is nothing he could do for us in his archdiocese; he would be looking elsewhere on our behalf. (RCG)

Mother Marie Fidèle called for help in the direction of Romania. On May 27, 1903,
she wrote to Mgr. F. Xavier of Homstein, Latin Archbishop of Bucarest :

 

Letter from Mother Marie-Fidèle to Mgr F. Xavier de Homstein

 

Vannes, May 27, 1903

Eminence,

The painful crisis that religious congregations are going through in France must not be unknown to you. Many of our houses are closed, and others will be closed very shortly. 
My sisters wish to remain faithful to the Vows they have made to the Lord and wish to work for his glory by continuing to run orphanages and teach children, especially the poor.

One of my Sisters has a relative in Craiova; the latter believes we should go to Romania where we could do some good {…} Please allow me to recommend my Congregation to your fervent prayers. {…} (RCG)

Sr. Marie Fidèle
General Superior

 

 

The reply is dated as of June 17, 1903 :


Madam Superior,

It is with great pleasure that Monsignor, the Archbishop would welcome you in Romania, if this were possible. There would certainly be much good to do, and your kind Sisters would be competent to do it. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do now along the work that you describe because the authorization from the Romanian State is required; that is something they would certainly refuse. We have already been through this experience. {…} Monsignor, the Archbishop can only sympathize with you in this time of trial and pray that it will be short-lived. {…} 

J. Bandelier, Chancellor
Archbishop of Bucarest, No. 466 (RCG)