As the date of the Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth celebrations has been changed from July 2 to May 31, 2024, since 1969 (a post-conciliar change), the North America East region decided to mark the founding of the Institute on this date of May 31, the current date of the celebrations of Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth.
To this end, the Oblates gathered at Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica to celebrate their jubilees at the same time. For the occasion, they were keen to invite the local Volunteers of God to join them in celebrating this beautiful moment of fraternity.
First of all, we'd like to thank the President of OMMI, Denise Dubé, for her presence and her speech, well suited to this celebration, on the importance of cultivating and working together on “the encounter,” in the manner of Mary and Elizabeth, who lived theirs under the breath of the Holy Spirit.
We’d also like to thank Marie Martineau (photo 4), Regional Leader of the North America East region, who had the brilliant idea of inviting the Volunteers of God to take part in these festivities.
We were really happy to meet up with other Volunteers of God at this festive event, to get to know the newcomers better, especially the new Victoriaville team.
On May 31 next year, we'd like to meet earlier in the day, as Volunteers of God, to reflect together on our spirituality and current experience. Later in the day, we'll join the Oblates for dinner and their jubilee celebrations.
It's a wonderful experience to be able to share our spirituality with the OMMIs in this way.
In the centre of photos 1 and 2, Violaine Couture OMMI, coordinator of the Volunteers of God in the French and English sectors, was surrounded by (from left to right in photo 1): Jacqueline Blais (Drummondville), Thania Muco (Victoriaville), Réjeanne Allard OMMI (North America East central liaison person), Denise Normand (Victoriaville), behind Ginette Bourgeois (St-Hyacinthe) and front right, Marie-Jeanne Ferland (Drummondville).
In photo 2 (from left to right), Chantal Gardner (Victoriaville), Jacqueline Blais (Drummondville), Yolaine Kane (Trois-Rivières), Thania Muco (Victoriaville) and Diane Pichette (Trois-Rivières).
In photo 3 (from left to right), all the people already named above, plus in the 1st row (centre) Mrs. Cécile Leblanc OMMI (Victoriaville, jubilee 65 years), Céline Boissonneault (Victoriaville), behind completely, Mrs. Louise Royer (reference person of Volunteers of God for the Montreal region) and on the far right Mrs. Élise Bélanger OMMI, team leader of the lower river.
We’d like to thank each and every one of these people for making this Volunteer/Oblate event such a great success!
Violaine Couture, oblate
