Sisters

Daily Life For the Sisters

Sister with Students

he schedule of the Sisters was based upon the Quebec farmer’s workday. The women would rise at 4:50 A.M., with half an hour to wash, dress and clean their rooms. After half an hour of meditation, there was a short break before Mass. After Mass, breakfast was eaten in silence and then the school day began. If the Sisters were not teaching classes or assisting other teachers, they were involved in chores in some other part of Convent life for most of the day, which included tending the garden and orchards, cooking and cleaning. A quiet lunch and tea break was taken in the afternoon, and after classes were finished, the Sisters went to the Chapel for Rosary.

Spiritual reading was part of the daily schedule. It was considered improper to sit with idle hands so quite often mending or other sewing would be done at this time. Dinner was eaten at 5:30 P.M. The teaching Sisters would then do their class preparation and corrections and supervise the boarder’s study period. The Sisters were in bed by 9:00, after which there was the ‘grand silence’, and the lights were put out. The great luxury of the Summer Schedule was sleeping in until 5:30!

These hours were part of the Convent Rule, the set of guiding laws by which women religious arranged their activities within the community. It was difficult for many of the women to follow this strict schedule, and they welcomed the changes that came with Vatican II in the 1960s , after which they could make a schedule better suited to the hours of their activities. This certainly did not mean that the Sisters relaxed their busy day, but rather that if they wished to work during the evenings, they were able to do so.

There was very little recreation time for the Sisters. What they did have was often spent with the students, supervising their activities, participating in their sports and outings and helping the girls to improve their artistic and musical abilities. They enjoyed the company of the other Sister's. Chats over a cup of tea or a moment of television in the Sisters area was a rare and much appreciated break from a hectic schedule.

Click here for more on St. Ann's Sisters