"God took me by the hand and,
blindly, I followed…
in what seemed the most total darkness,
and in the most disconcerting absence of human means, but with
unlimited trust in Jesus, Master of the Impossible."
l sr Magdeleine
Everything radically shifted in 1947 when
she realized that this same form of contemplative presence
could be lived anywhere.
With the War over more and more women
began joining her. She began travelling around the world
defying the conventional wisdom that her dream was unrealistic.
Her "little sisters" would go wherever there
was a handful of people or a group that was inaccessible in
some way to other forms of Church presence.
Serving tea to a Tuareg friend under the
tent
Travelling across Africa by truck.
Here they were somewhere in the Cameroon
Little sister Magdeleine was also clear
that, although truly a contemplative vocation, she did not want
to be cloistered in any way. She had to struggle with
those who did not find the life-style of ordinary poor people
to be appropriate for religious life. While many
questioned the audacity and novelty of her vision she always
acted with full knowledge of the Church.
By the early 1950’s she began
travelling extensively behind the "Iron Curtain"
throughout the Cold War years and until a few months before her
death. She founded clandestine communities that have only
recently been able to exist openly.
Travelling by canoe along the Amazon (ls
Magdeleine is seated at center) in order to reach remote
villages.
Travelling in Eastern Europe in a
modified van
which served as camper.
