Thursday, July 16, 2009

Just Received

A kind soul put me on the mailing list of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation at Le Barroux, where one of my friends, the Wills, entered holy religion a few months back, in presence of her immediate family and of the peripatetic Fr Rowe; just now I've received the good sisters' communication concerning this:

24 janvier : ... notre postulante australienne reçoit l'habit bénédictin et son nouveau nom : sœur Mechtilde. Pour la famille et les amis venus de l'autre côté de la terre, Père Basile prononce un sermon en anglais...

(24th January: ... our Australian postulant receives the Benedictine habit and her new name: Sister Mechtilde. For family and friends from the other side of the world, Father Basil delivers a sermon in English ...)

And the monastic chronicle noted a later comic moment: when the question was raised: « Qui célèbre la messe ? », sister heard it as « Qui est la Mère abbesse ? » - and replied innocently, « Mère Placide Devillers. » Consternation all round!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

God bless Sr Mechtilde and the Wills family!

You'll have to help me out with that French though.

Joshua said...

The question, "Who celebrates the Mass?" was misheard as "Who is the Mother Abbess?" - and so Sister innocently replied, "Mother Placid Devillers"!

Anonymous said...

Hehehe. Poor Sr Mechtilde!