Sister Elizabeth Bousquet

“…You must always be ready, for you do not know at
what time the Son of Man will come”. Mt. 24:44

May 19, 2010, Sister Elizabeth Bousquet
in religion, Mary of Loyola, 
went home to God.
She was 101 years old and had been professed for 79 years.

Elizabeth Eva Bousquet was born in Worcester, Mass. U.S.A., April 18, 1909 and she was baptized in Assumption parish, Millbury, Mass. Her father, Louis Napoleon Bousquet was a mechanic. Her mother, Albina Elizabeth Mailhot, gave birth to two other children, Eleanor, in 1918, and Charles, in 1919.

Because of the premature death of her parents, Elizabeth Eva became an orphan at a very young age, so it was the love of her grandmother that surrounded her. This grandmother spent the winter in Florida and there she met Sister Marie Amédée, SNJM, who was the superior of the convent. They became very good friends. Step by step, this Sister directed the child to Quebec to our different convents of Saint Hilaire, Saint Barthélémy, Mount Royal and Epiphany so that she might learn the French language,

When Elizabeth was nine years old, she was confirmed in Saint Hilaire Church on June 18, 1918 by Monsignor A.X. Bernard, Bishop of Saint Hyacinthe.  During her childhood and adolescence she boarded for nine years in these different convents. Later she would say: “I was usually first in my class and I won several prizes. I often had a major role in the plays.”

When she left the convent, where she studied, she was perfectly bilingual and she had obtained an 8th grade diploma, a teaching certificate and had completed nine years of musical studies. To this we must add a nursing certificate and a second course with the Red Cross. One can say that she was very gifted.

Elizabeth dreamed of becoming a nurse especially on a cruise ship. But God was calling her to religious life.  At the age of twenty she answered this call and she writes that “Mother Marie-Marcienne, mistress of novices, a kind and well-balanced woman, was my grandmother’s great friend”. This made adaptation much easier.

In February 1929, she entered the Outremont postulate and in February 1931, she made temporary vows. In August 1935, her perpetual vows sealed her consecration.

She was entrusted with teaching and education of adults. From 1931 to 1970, her efforts were crowned with success in the following convents: Duluth, Minn., Winnipeg, Man., Saint Eulalie School, Hochelaga, Washington, D.C., Silver Sprin