Sr. Yvette Plessis, SCSL: 60th Jubilee of Vows

I was born and raised in Manitoba on a farm. My parents wanted us to have the opportunity for a religious education and to preserve our language which was French, so we were sent to a neighbouring town to be taught by the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. Fairly early on in life I was attracted to Religious life, but I kept this a secret in my heart until Grade 12.
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I felt God calling me to look into various Congregations of Sisters and one Sunday, I wrote to 15 different Congregations that I found in the Catholic newspaper. It was common at that time for Religious to advertise their communities in the Catholic newspapers. I received three responses, one was simply a brochure, the second was a brochure and a little note that if I wanted more information, I was encouraged to contact the community, and the third was from the community I entered, the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis. The Vocation Director for this community wrote me a three-page handwritten letter. This personal contact touched me deeply, that she would write at length to me, a person that she did not know, and I can still recall the words of encouragement that she wrote. 

My parents were very supportive of my desire to enter Religious life. I entered the novitiate of the community in Medicine Hat and my three years of formation there confirmed God’s call to me.

As a professed Sister, I taught senior and junior High School students for eight years and then was asked to lead the formation programme for the community. I was in that role for six years. I had always deeply desired to become a counsellor, and with the support of my community, I went to Ottawa to take a Masters degree in Pastoral Counselling. For 10 years in Edmonton, I did individual and marital counselling at the Pastoral Institute, an ecumenical counselling centre. It was very important and broadening for me to work with our Protestant brothers and sisters. During that time, a colleague and I worked with women’s spirituality groups and facilitated ecumenical women’s retreats.  

Most of my life in the community has been spent in service to the community itself through leadership positions: twice as Provincial Leader, one term on the General Council, and more years than I can count as Local Coordinator in various communities of our Sisters.
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As I reflect upon my many years of Religious life, I am filled with awe and deep gratitude for God’s unfailing daily fidelity and loving presence in my life. People often say to me: "Thank you for your fidelity," but it is God who is faithful to me. It has been a very rich life. Every new ministry, even though it called me to uproot my life, has been filled with such blessings. I thank and praise this great God of ours!

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Written by Sr. Yvette Plessis, SCSL