News from Maria Province (Japan)
Sister Kinuyo Anzai celebrated her 100th birthday on December 3, and a Mass was held at Palais Luce with Father Charles Aime Bolduc, SME, as the Eucharistic celebrant, and Sister Kyoko Terashima, Sister Kiyoko Kurihara, Sister Yumiko Furuyama and Sister Akiko Matsukawa from the convent also attended the celebration. Sister Anzai was happy to be able to celebrate Mass for the first time in a long time, and she was also grateful for the visit of the Hanazono sisters.
Mass of Thanksgiving for the 90th Anniversary of CND’s Arrival in Japan at Sensui cho Convent.
On Sunday, December 4, a Mass of Thanksgiving for the 90th anniversary of the Congregation de Notre Dame's arrival in Japan and the 40th anniversary of its Associates relationship was held at Sensui cho Convent, with Bishop Joseph AbeIIa presiding. The Mass was attended by the Sisters and Associates of Sensui cho Convent, the school's benefactors, and those who have had a connection with the Convent, and all gave thanks for the blessings they have received. Of the 90 years that the C.N.D. has been in Japan, more than 70 years have been spent serving Meiji Gakuen. When we think of how many sisters have courageously devoted themselves to Catholic education and their hard work, we can only be thankful to God and renewed our hearts to continue in our path of service with humility.
Ms. Marin Okabe, from Sakura no Seibo Junior College, attended the government-sponsored International Women's Conference (WAW!) held in Tokyo on December 3. Ms. Okabe's junior college’s, "Fukushima Studies Course," which was newly established in the year of the disaster, continues to be a place of learning for students today.
Ms. Okabe herself was in the third grade of elementary school at the time, and is now enrolled at the junior college, where she learned about her predecessors' studies and information dissemination for reconstruction in the prefecture where she is currently studying. She appeared in a breakout session on "Women and Disaster Prevention" and shared her experience of living in an evacuation shelter immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Toward the 90th Anniversary of CND's Arrival in Japan (Vol. 12)
Rose Cauchon CND from “The Narrow Road to Japan: In the Footsteps of Marguerite Bourgeoys”
Returning to Fukushima
On September 20, 1945, the sisters were finally able to return to the Convent where the interned foreigners had left. …The joy of returning to Fukushima was great, but the devastation of the Convent's buildings was unspeakable. …Eventually, with the Sisters and Novices with the promulgation of reparations from the Japanese government and the generous help of the U.S. military, the Convent was made to look like a monastery again. Food, fuel, clothing, and subsidies were a great help to the sisters, who had endured four years of scarcity. The American military priests were as kind as fathers, bringing in various relief supplies daily and encouraging the soldiers to collect donations and provide labor.
On December 8, 1945, for the first time since the end of the war, a letter arrived early in the morning, and everyone was delighted. However, the letter demanded sacrifices from S. S. Louis du Sacré Coeur, as it was an appointment to recall her to Montreal.
On January 17, 1946, the Superior left the Convent in Fukushima, where the time was beginning to ripen for the restoration of the project. Her years in Japan were the most difficult time for missionary work, but she overcame the recall with great courage.
Sr. St. Marie-Anne, undaunted by the difficulties, accepted the position of Superior with great heroism. The reopening of the clinic was due in no small part to her efforts. At the time, Japan was suffering from a combination of poverty and infirmity following the defeat in the war. The necessary medicines were procured by the U.S. military until food and medical aid arrived from Montreal.
However, even this aid could not save Sr. Beauregard's life. For 16 months she suffered and prayed, saying, "All is as God wills it. These were probably the only words she could say in the face of the sacrifice of leaving her country to die without seeing her beloved family again.
On the first Sunday of May, the Viaticum and final anointing sacrament was administered. the professed sisters and the novices gathered in the sickroom and prayed together. Sr. Beauregard remained fully conscious until the end, chanting the words of praise “J’irai la voir un jour” When she died, her face became beautiful and dignified, and she looked like a living person even when placed in her coffin. The funeral was well attended; the first blessing through the intercession of Sr. Beauregard was on the afternoon of the funeral day, Sr. Ogata's parents were baptized and given the spiritual names of Joseph Dominique and Maria Helena, chosen by Sr. Beauregard.
May 24, 1946, was "the day that truly God made". Three Japanese sisters, Sister Anna Saito, Sister Theresia Sasamori, and Sister Angeline Ogata, after completing their novitiate in the midst of wartime trials, dedicated themselves to God pronouncing their vows to follow the Constitution of the Congregation of Notre Dame. These three were the hope for the future of the Congregation and the joy of the entire Congregation. Magnificat!