On March 20, committed Christians, people from the community sector, nuns and academics gathered at UQAM for the conference “The end of women’s religious congregations in Quebec. What are the legacies for autonomous community action today? The subject resonates particularly in the current context, as the “Community to End” strike begins.
The contribution of Frédéric Barriault underlined
Unexpectedly, the day was marked by a tribute to Frédéric Barriault, who died on March 18 and was one of the organizers of the event.
Professor Catherine Foisy and doctoral student Étienne Lapointe opened the day by highlighting the memory of this committed historian, who left an impression on several people present in the room. “He is, I am convinced, present,” underlined Professor Foisy. Mr. Lapointe also dedicated the conference to him, while Élisabeth Garant reminded the audience of Frédéric’s passion for his doctorate on the Jesuit Jacques Couture and the site Memory of social Christianity.
One subject, multiple realities
The first panel was composed of academics – Sylvain A. Lefèvre, Mylène Fauvel and Geneviève Dorais – who gave their reflections on the links between religious communities and autonomous community actions based on the reading of the issue of the Bulletin of Political History entitled “Liberation and awareness in Quebec: cross-reception of two Latin American utopias”. Their interventions highlighted the involvement of Christians committed to social Christianity within places of autonomous community action, but also their progressive invisibility after the Quiet Revolution, which complicates the transmission of their history.
Subsequently, Vincent Greason, retired from the Popular Education and Community Action Movement of Quebec, addressed these issues from his personal experience. “Without community support, several groups fighting and defending rights would not be there,” he said straight away, showing how this memory has been lost in several community environments. “It’s a story that must be written and told so that our understanding of Quebec in the 60s and 70s is complete.” During this period identified as a turning point by several speakers, two revolutions which would have a profound impact on Quebec and community environments occurred in parallel: the Quiet Revolution and the Second Vatican Council. “When there is no longer a community, it is the history that remains, hence the importance of making this history shine,” underlined Mr. Greason.
The interventions highlighted the involvement of Christians committed to social Christianity within places of autonomous community action, but also their progressive invisibility after the Quiet Revolution.
The afternoon opened with a discussion with Sister Nicole Riberdy, Danielle Forest and Dominique Laperle around the book In the footsteps of Amélie. The work self-published by Martine D’Amours presents the work of Amélie Fristel, founder of the Sisters of the Saints-Coeurs-de-Jésus-et-de-Marie. It is a concrete example of intentional transmission of the history and charisma of a religious congregation to lay people. Sister Riberdy thus explained: “Amélie’s example pushes us to make bold decisions. After the last general chapter, we agreed to continue walking towards fulfillment, which means disappearing as a congregation. But accomplishment is a transformation, and we are responsible for seeing how the charism will continue, which has led us into a process of reflection and transmission.” The collective work of the sisters, among themselves and then with others, as well as the transmission of the charism, constitute, according to Mr. Laperle, avenues whose developments will be followed.
The last panel gave the floor to speakers from other backgrounds. Mercédez Roberge, an autonomous community worker and activist, spoke about the changing links between autonomous community movements and religious organizations, shaped in particular by current events, from the pandemic to government initiatives in terms of “rather fundamentalist” secularism. Events like the conference are particularly important, because they allow communities and the community environment “to explain and re-present themselves”.
“We need to build resilient local communities to counter extremism and isolation,” concluded Graham Singh. The founder of the Relèven organization spoke about the transmission of religious built heritage for community projects, a question that arises urgently in Quebec.
Beyond the conference
One of the strengths of this conference was to bring together people from different backgrounds and generations, who were able to react from their own experiences and highlight the porosity between the backgrounds represented. Several of the people featured in the presentations, notably nuns, were present in the room. “They’re not in the archives,” as Mr. Greason pointed out.
More broadly, the day highlighted the importance of transmitting the history of congregations and better circulating these issues. These exchanges made it possible to remove certain blind spots, since, as Ms. Garant pointed out, not everyone has access to the same networks. It remains to be seen how the call to broadcast the stories heard during the day will translate into practice.
