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Summary of the Monasteries of
Canada, France, and French-speaking Belgium
The summary includes:
The Association of St. Clare of Québec,
The Federation of San Damiano of France,
The Federation of Our Lady of the Angels of France,
The Federation of the Immaculate Conception of France,
and The Federation of St. Clare of France.
We are 60 Monasteries, of which 3 are in Canada, 3 in Belgium, 1 in Hungary, 1 in
Romania, 1 in Switzerland, 1 in Italy, 3 in the Near East, 1 in Alexandria and 1 in Malta.
There is a total of 743 Sisters with an average age of 65 years.
The lists of names of the Sisters according to age and the levels of formation are
eloquent, there are more old than young Sisters. 16 Novices and 9 Postulants are few. We are
touched by and sorry at the numerous exclaustrations and defections from the Order: 18 during
the last 5 years.
The prospects of the Federations
The situation of the Monasteries in Canada, as in France, is becoming more and more
precarious and, however, the Confederation is showing the vitality of our Order in France; we
want to continue to live and give witness to our Clarean vocation. Many points emerge:
1) Among the desirable projects it would be good to develop retirement places for the
accompaniment of the old Sisters, in order to allow them live their Clarean life to the
end.
2) Our Monasteries are the places and strong points of our mission as Poor Clares, they
should be more visible in the context of the Church and of the present-day world, more
accessible places for announcing the Good News, which is our happiness; places of
presence, prayer and welcome; places of listening, of being attentive to the population
which is evermore de-Christianised; places of life and witness to our prayer and
evangelical fraternal life between Sisters of different generations and formation, already
present in each of our communities.
3) Today, after many years, an openness to internationality is becoming clear: many of our
monasteries have made and are making appeals to Sisters of other cultures to either live
in international communities (the project of the Besançon Poor Clare’s on the hill of
Ronchamp) or simply to live the Clarean life with other cultures in an inter-cultural
society; or to help and to give life back to a community of old Sisters.
4) In view of the future, the Monasteries carry out meetings, not with problems, difficulties
and pain, but courageously with an inner force.
5) Our “poverty” causes us to work more and more in Federation and Confederation; it
seems obvious that we are moving towards a single Federation in France. We have made
the Abbesses aware of this during the meetings of the Confederation.
Problems in our Federations
1) The small numbers, lack of vocations, and the weakening of the communities are certain
problems. But the autonomy of Monasteries is sometimes an obstacle to our life; we find
ourselves more and more with difficulties in personnel for the development of the
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mentality of association, federation and confederation; for having a common vision of
our Poor Clare life; for encouraging help and discernment.
The reception of foreign Sisters is sometimes made without prior preparation, with the
risk of placing the young Sisters in difficulties or having to return defeated to their
country.
The closure of monasteries is not without its problems: an uprooting for the old Sisters,
the sale of buildings and the management of goods…
The Near-East: France can no longer send reinforcements, there are not enough local
vocations, and so the reception of foreign Sisters, which does not facilitate discernment.
The relationship with Bishops is in not easy, they do not understand our situation and
life.
Our mission as Presidents is to support the projects of the monasteries, especially when
circumstances oblige them to make choices regarding the future, to accompany them and help
them, especially with their plans. We bear the worry of Sisters who defect after solemn
profession and who are sometimes in difficulties. The President is an intermediary between the
Sister and her monastery. We have the worry of having to have relationships with the Bishops
carried out with clarity and in collaboration.
Faced by these perspectives and problems, we can note some questions:
 How can we manage the life of the old Sisters better? How can a single “young” Sister
live in a community of old Sisters? How can we change in order to make our charism
present?
 How can we make the Monasteries and the Abbesses sensitive to discernment in the
acceptance of postulants? In the acceptance of foreign Sisters?
 How can we make the autonomy of the Monasteries evolve more towards a mentality of
belonging to an Order even if, after many years, we have followed this course through
commissions or the monasteries have invested a lot?
Suggested solutions
To deepen the links between the monasteries for a greater mutual knowledge, we in
France hold federal, inter-federal and regional meetings which favour this, assemblies of
Abbesses, Chapters of Mats… Mutual fraternal help exists.
We propose competent external help when the communities are in crisis. The Service des
Moniales, the Association for the help of Sisters, can help in this.
Our Monasteries employ lay people for the kitchen, infirmary, garden, etc., but there are
also many volunteers.
To receive foreign Sisters, we suggest that requests should pass through the Federations,
that the preparations be carried out in the best conditions; the juridical and canonical
commission of the Confederation has established a programme to help in this preparation. We
appreciate the agreement of the Philippines, and that of Mexico… it is a good initiative.
The learning of foreign languages should be encouraged by both sides.
We also underline that being rooted in prayer, the vitality of our Federations and of the
Sisters, permits finding solutions and the exit from situations which seem to have no way out.
National and International Collaboration
In France we work almost always in confederation. The commissions and delegations are
in place, all the Federations are taken into account (cf. organigramme). The Sisters have
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invested in initial and ongoing formation, in the young and vocations, in internet. Our magazine
“Poor Sisters” allows us to have news of the communities, to profit from feature articles or
reports of sessions. The legal and canonical commission helps us in different areas: conveyance,
unions, the reception of foreign Sisters…
There is a meeting of the Presidents and of the Federal Council every year.
We usually have guests at our assemblies of Abbesses: from Great Britain, Canada, Italy,
Spain, Flanders, French-speaking Africa… we share information and get reports on meetings.
Sometimes a Sister from Africa comes to Canada or France for formation… The Confederation
also helps Sisters participating in the “St. Clare trimester”, a time of formation for the Sisters of
the Solofo Kamuti association.
The links between the Presidents of the different countries is being consolidated even if
language is, at times, an obstacle.
Information about the research being made on St. Clare in the different languages and
collaboration in the translation of the more important documents is desired.
Sr. Monique Allard