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Today’s missionary hero is a Canadian Sister who never left her native land, but was responsible for missionary work throughout the world. Her name was Délia Tétreault.
Délia was born on February 4, 1865 in Marieville, Quebec, Canada. She and her twin brother Roch were among nine children of a farm family. Although Délia was frequently ill, it was Roch who died at the age of 7 months. Two years later, Délia’s mother died. Her father decided to emigrate to the United States for a job. But before he left, he made the sure the children were in good hands. Délia found a good home with her aunt and uncle.
Délia’s new home was very religious, and Délia loved to go into the attic and read missionary tales that she found in periodicals published by the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Holy Childhood Association. The journals were geared to mission work in Africa and Asia.
At age 13, she had a dream that she was in a wheat field, when suddenly the heads of wheat turned into the heads of children in different parts of the world. It was then she began to think of religious life. At age 15, she made a vow of perpetual chastity.
When she was 18, Délia tried to become a Carmelite, they rejected her. She was accepted, however, by the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe, but she had to leave because of poor health. In 1891, she joined the Sisters of Bethany and remained with them for 10 years.
While serving as a Sister of Bethany, Délia worked with the poor in Montreal. Once again, she dreamed of the missions. Fortunately, a priest entered her life and encouraged her as did the archbishop. With their backing, in 1905 she founded a religious community of missionary sisters and took the name Mother Marie of the Holy Spirit. The new congregation eventually became known as the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (M.I.C.). By 1909, the first six Sisters left for Canton, China. Soon, the new congregation had convents throughout Quebec. In 1920, the congregation began publishing a missionary journal, and a year later, the community founded a school of formation to prepare Sisters for foreign missions. By 1933, Mother Marie had founded 36 communities of the Missionary Sisters in Canada, China, Japan, and the Philippines.
On October 1, 1941, Mother Marie died. Over 1,000 people came to pay their respects to this missionary leader.
Délia is known known as Venerable, and the Vatican is exploring the possibility of proclaiming her a Blessed.
I love these stories of missionaries and Blessed ones who have inspired and made a difference with their lives of grace. Thank you, Father.