DEATH OF A RELIGIOUS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 357, 20 February 1880, Page 5

DEATH OF A RELIGIOUS.

It is with deep regret we record the death of the Very Rev. Mother Vicar of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, which occurred at Timaru. on Friday last The deceased lady had been in delicate health for some time, but was not deterred by this reason from coming to New Zealand to assist at the establishment of a Convent of her Order in this colony. The immediate cause of death was dysentery, which, in a few days, earned her off, notwithstanding the anxious care bestowed upon her by the Sisterhood, and the attention and skill which she experienced at the hands of her medical attendant, Dr. m. intyre. Her last hours were comforted by the spiritual ministrations of his lordship the Bishop of Wellington, and the Rev. Fathers Chataigmer and Goutenoire, S.M. It is, we doubt not, a source of consolation to the Sisterhood in their affliction to know that everything was thus done that could be done for the relief and happiness of the sufferer. She herself was indeed the first to acknowledge this. She thanked Dr. Mclntyre for his services, and said lam so grateful for all that you have done for me." " But," says one of those who were with her, " gratitude was always a marked trait in her character, if she could not speak she always wrote or made others write, to express her thanks." This noble sentiment and tender thoughtfulness for the feelings of others were further manifested in the charge she gave the Rev. Mother Bauduy— " Mind you tell the Bishop and Father Chataignier that I have had everything I wanted in my sickness— have wanted for nothing." The funeral took place on Sunday last. The remains, which had rested m the temporary convent until then, were brought in procession to the church before the 11 a.m. Mass, which, in compliance with the directions of the rubric, was the second High Mass celebrated that morning the first having been offered by the Most Rev. the Bishop ol Dunedin, at 9 a.m. After the conclusion of the Mass, and before the Absolution, the Most Rev. the Bishop of Wellington, who had acted as celebrant, delivered a most feeling address. He pointed out to his congregation the loss that had been sustained in this venerable lady who had travelled so far to lay the foundation amongst them of an invaluable education for their children, and otherwise to confer upon them the immense benefits to be derived from the existence of a community of the Sacred Heart in their town. He recommended the soul of the deceased to their prayers as that of one who had a special claim upon them, and gave in effect the following bnei epitome of the holy career that was now closed upon earth. . T Ecy '. Mother Susannah Boudreau was born 13th August, 1823, in Louisiana, U.S. of America. Her parents going to St. Louis, to make a permanent settlement in Missouri, left two of their children m the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau. Susannah, the elder, was then only in her seventh year, her sister only four and a half. Up to the day of her death she remembered the keen anguish her young heart suffered at this separation from father and mother. In 1836, the Rev. Mother Hardey took her from Grand Coteau to • e706e 706* ° 4t W she remained » entering the Novitiate of that house m IBd7. Her capabilities even at that young age gave her great success as mistress of class and her gentle winning ways gained her a rare ascendancy over the pupils. She was admitted to the rank of aspirant in the society, in 1840, and made her profession, or taking of the great vows in 1849. Immediately after this she went to Amiens', I ranee, where she remained three years. Returning to Manhattanville, N.Y., the responsible duties of mistress-general devolved upon her. In this capacity she remained eighteen years, when she was nominated Superior of the house of her Order in Philadelphia ; after filling this charge for a space of two years she was transferred to the Vicariate of Louisiana, the houses of which she governed as Superior Vicar for four years. During this time she presided over the erection of a beautiful Convent at Havana, Cuba, which she had not the consolation of seeing completed. In 1876, Rev. Mother Boudreau was named Sup. Vicar of the Missouri Vicariate, where her administration was eminently effective for the success of God's work. Her zeal for souls could not confine itself to her native land, she always yearned for some distant country, in which she might devote herself and show her love for God by more suffering for His glory. These sentiments seemed to increase with advancing years when, just one year ago, the suppression of a house in America made for the establishment of a Convent in New Zealand. On the conclusion of his lordship's address, the absolution was pronounced, ana a procession then formed in the following order : Crossbearer, Acolytes, Thurifer, the Clergy, the Bishops of Wellington and Dunedm, the coffin, the school children, the men of thecongregation two by two, the women of the congregation in the same order. The procession in this manner proceeded to the burial place, situated in the grounds on which the Convent is being erected, and when the Bishop of Wellington had blessed the grave, and the usual prayers were recited, the coffin was lowered, amidst the deep emotion of those who stood by. It seemed to every one present a sad termination to the hopeful mission that had brought the venerable religious to our shores, but although the labourer had passed away to her reward the fruits of her labour remain behind, and will, we see every reason to hope, form an enduring and ever-increasing monument of a life devoted to God and to His Holy Church. While the grave was being filled in, the procession was reformed, and returned to the church in reverse order from that in which it had arrived at

the burial ground. On the occurrence of the death on Friday, his Lordship the Bishop of Wellington immediately sent a telegram to Fans announcing the sad intelligence, and we may add that an answer was received by him on Monday last. It is possible then, that before we write this the Sisterhood throughout America have learned the deep loss they have sustained, and it is a loss that they will feel to the uttermost ; even by the last mail letters were received saying how ardently they were looking forward to the return of their beloved mother, and longing to congratulate her on the successful result of her mission to New Zealand. But it is not for us to remind them that their mother, who did not live to receive their loving letters, had been accorded a reception in a better world than this that surpassed in joy all their most tender care could have imagined or provided for her. " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; for their works follow them."— JtJ.P.