Sister Émilienne Ayotte
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever.” Jn. 6, 51
July 7, 2012, Sister Émilienne Ayotte,
in religion Conrad-Marie,
went home to God.
She was 102 years old and had been professed for 73 years.
Born in Saint-Barthélemy, Quebec,
she was the daughter of Wilfrid Ayotte and Cordélie Bernèche.
Émilienne grew up in a very Christian family with 11 children. Four of her older brothers were already teachers. After completing her studies as a boarder in our school and convent at St-Barthélemy, she taught for seven years in her parochial school.
Émilienne’s desire to enter religious life was affirmed when her brother, a priest, died at the age of 31. When she was 26, she entered the S.N.J.M.’s, a religious community which she knew very well.
Strengthened by the experience she had acquired and her success with little ones, Sister Conrad-Marie taught children at the primary level for nearly 22 years in our convents in Lachenaie, St-Roch-de-l’Achigan, l’Épiphanie, St-Jean-de-Matha, Maskinongé and Valois. She was also an assistant in the Eucharistic Crusade and a sacristan.
Each change of residence was difficult for her, and her health had begun to fail. When she was 50, Sister Émilienne spent six years in the infirmary, gaining back her health. When she returned to active life she became a receptionist in our boarding schools in St-Lambert, Longueuil and Verchères. At the age of 81, she was admitted to the infirmary.
Sister Émilienne was close to her family, her students and the Sisters she lived with. She leaves behind the memory of a woman committed to her work: “She placed importance on the lowliest of services”. For Sister Émilienne, “daily Eucharist, prayer and carrying out God’s will were her sources of happiness.”