November 25, SNJMs celebrating the Feast of St. Catherine

From the early years of the Congregation, the Feast of St. Catherine was celebrated in the SNJM convents of Quebec by special periods of recreation or by the making of taffy. The missionary sisters continued this tradition wherever they worked, as is illustrated by these archives.

Chronicles from the Motherhouse, Hochelaga, November 25, 1861

Transcript of the excerpt: “We cannot allow the Feast of St. Catherine, which is so ingrained in Canadian customs, to end without bringing a little pleasure to the students. They had the evening off. Fr. Valois came to spend the regular recreation time with them, from 6-7 p.m. Before he left they sang to him the hymn: C’est la Sainte Catherine.”
“Oakland. 1915, Thursday, November 25 – Feast of St. Catherine. In keeping with the custom, the Feast of St. Catherine brought an extra time of special recreation to the sisters of the community, once they had finished their daily tasks. At the supper table,[…] at each place we found a card with a small picture of our venerable Mother Marie-Rose.”
“St. Theresa, Basutoland. 1933, November 25 – It’s a holiday. We too, united with all our sisters, celebrate the Feast of St. Catherine. In the refectory, each of us had a little package on our plate. When breakfast was finished, nothing seemed more important than to examine our small treasures; they were little prayer books, holy pictures and rosaries intended to be given to our students as rewards.”

Cookbook of the SNJM Sisters, containing the recipe for St. Catherine taffy.

Sr Pierre-Eugène teaching a cooking class,
Institut de pédagogie familiale, November 1960.

Sisters and students celebrating St. Catherine, Pensionnat Marie-Rose, 1965.

Sr Yolande Henri pulling some St. Catherine taffy, November [1975].