Sister Mary Alban Bouchard's Story

It was a good choice I made

Stages

I was born near Kerrobert, Saskatchewan, near the Alberta border where my father homesteaded. I think my first conscious experience of God, at a very young age, was as I stood in a rock pile at the corner of the field on the silent prairie. As the wind passed brushing my face lightly, I was aware of the Presence all about me. At age six, I had decided to become a Sister.

The call of Matthew

I was touched by the account of the call of Matthew the Apostle. He was a moneychanger, but when Jesus walked by and said, "Come," he left it all and followed him. I wanted to do the same. I was attracted to being a woman who lived in community with other women, women who loved God very much, prayed and helped others. So, at age sixteen, having burned my published poetry, I set out on the journey of two days and three nights by train to Toronto.

Looking back

My life in the CSJ has been one of growth. I have grown steadily – in mind, heart, spirit and in health – toward the wholeness that is union. This has happened whether cooking for 60; teaching small children, high school students and teachers; going public for peace and disarmament; whether studying or writing or being at the UN representing Sisters of St. Joseph around the world; or being in Haiti in service to the poor. When I came to stay in Haiti, my timeline was "open-ended." It is still open-ended.

A vocation to the Sisters of St. Joseph is a call and a grace given. But it is also a choice. It was a good choice I made.

Read more about Sr. Mary Alban and her work in Haiti

To read more Sisters' Stories, please see Meet A Sister