Montreal's social media savvy religious sisters embrace modern devotion

Sheila Sullivan was one of 58 prospective religious sisters to join Montreal's Congregation de Notre-Dame in 1964.

In 2016, only one woman in Canada has applied to join the country's oldest non-cloistered religious community.

As church attendance declines and the community shrinks with age, some of Notre-Dame's sisters are carving out a new reality in an increasingly secular age: one that includes embracing social media and, at times, hints of modern activism.

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The congregation's activities are chronicled on their numerous social media accounts: interviews with sisters on YouTube; Twitter links to articles on ending violence toward women; and Facebook posts documenting recent gatherings and reflecting on their vocation.

The website has a section on social justice and environmental issues, as well as a page titled "To Be A Sister In 2016''a role that has clearly evolved since she joined, Sullivan says in an interview.

"We're no longer in schools teaching like we did, but we're involved in other issues,'' she said. "We're involved in issues of refugees, (human) trafficking, climate change. We still believe in education, but liberating education.''

More than 50 years of service

Sullivan, who is active on social media, has also been using Skype to counsel the congregation's one new recruit.

Sullivan and her fellow religious sisters Marilyn von Zuben and Lorraine Costello have all celebrated more than 50 years of service. They're also three of the youngest and most active members of a dwindling congregation and are doing their best to adapt their 400-year-old institution to the modern age.

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For von Zuben, that means spending two afternoons a week volunteering with refugees at a local YMCA residence, where she tries to be an "encouraging presence.''

After spending most of her adult life overseas, she says she often connects with the centre's many young African refugees.

"As soon as I tell them I spent 18 years in Cameroon I instantly become their grandmother,'' she said.

Costello helps to take care of the increasing number of older sisters who are hospitalized, including about 10 of the Montreal community's 30 remaining members.

The three women haven't worn traditional habits since the 1960s and instead favour slacks, sweaters and jackets, with only their identical cross necklaces hinting at their profession.

Only von Zuben lives at the mother house, an imposing former school building just west of Montreal's downtown.

All of them joined the church in the 1950s and '60s when it was on the cusp of a profound change. As the education system was secularized and church attendance began to decline, the congregation was faced with the challenge of carving out a new place in society.

It has been, they explain, both a little sad and a little liberating.

"For me, it's a difficult moment, because there's a loss of everything that was part of your life, part of the society,'' Sullivan says.

Mixing it up

On the other hand, all three say it has been good to shift some emphasis away from a rigid adherence to traditional church doctrine, with its inflexible stances on issues including sin and sexuality, to a more community-level approach.

"Our church had all the answers,it was very clear, very dogmatic, very hierarchical,'' Costello said. "Now we're in there mixing it up.''

That means lending their voices to support initiatives to fight climate change, as well as correcting a reporter who fails to use inclusive language by referring to them as 'guys.'

"We're gals,'' Costello said with a laugh. "We're into feminism.''

Von Zuben, for one, believes the order is getting closer to the values espoused both by the order's founder, Marguerite Bourgeoys, who said sisters should live with the people and not behind walls, and the Bible itself.

"It's so wonderful,'' she said. "We're finally exchanging canon law for the gospel.''

And although the women agree it can be difficult to watch the institution's decline, they see reasons for optimism.

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They believe the ascendancy of Pope Francis has signalled a new era of openness for the church. Religious tourism is on the rise and they point out attendance remains stable in many places outsideQuebec.

Costello adds that although people may not be looking for organized religion, that doesn't mean they aren't still looking for God.

"Purpose and meaning are as important or more important to young people today than I was conscious of,'' she said.

"We're not seeing the results in our door opening, but that (the attitudes of the young) is what gives me hope.''