Since our beginnings — and especially during the Quiet Revolution in Quebec in the 1960s and following the Second Vatican Council — our teaching Congregation has adapted to the signs of the times.
Already sensitive to the promotion of justice as evidenced by Article 13 of our Constitutions, we have paid greater attention recently to human rights and environmental issues, along with our ever-present concern of responding to the needs of marginalized and impoverished people.
In this spirit of “educating to liberate,” we have developed our relationships with others, working in collaboration with them long before it became fashionable to do so, and networking with others in order to face the challenges of our world.
We have worked — and continue to do so — in solidarity with others. Our collaborative work allows us to share our SNJM charism and mission and to encourage those around us to share our values.
The majority of the Quebec population may recall our work in the education sector. However, we have been and still are active in several other areas as well. Several SNJM Sisters are involved in various ministries.
Our recognition of the gravity of certain social, economic, political and environmental problems has led us to formally commit ourselves to corporate stands on three major topics:
In the 2016 General Chapter, we affirmed “. . . our deep concern for those whose lack of resources and opportunities consigns them to the peripheries of society. We commit ourselves to examine our own complicity in these global problems, to live in even greater solidarity with marginalized peoples, and to confront the forces that perpetuate their marginalization.”
Among the concrete actions undertaken by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) of Quebec since 2018 is a new focus on reducing our level of consumption and examining our lifestyles and habits in order to reduce our negative impact on the planet.
At another pivotal moment in our history, when our religious community is aging and becoming smaller, we are still on mission.