Sister Françoise Angers
“God loved us first.” (1 John 4: 19)
On August 2, 2024, Sister Françoise Angers,
whose religious name was Sister M.-Thérèse-d’Avila,
went home to God.
She was 86 years old, with 64 years as a vowed religious.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, she was the oldest of the five children
of François-Albert Angers and Gisèle Lemyre.
Françoise grew up in a home where reading and music held a place of honour. Her father was a professor of political economics at Hautes études commercials (HEC) of Montreal. At home, as related by Françoise, “He was excessively strict. My mother, a musician, tried to lighten the mood. In the evenings, she gathered us for prayer. A woman ahead of her time, she would have us read the liturgy of the day in the big Gaspard Lefebvre missal.”
Françoise attended school at Longueuil Convent and then continued at St. Lambert Convent and Collège Jésus-Marie, all of which were directed by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM). In her memoirs, Françoise wrote: “At the age of fifteen, I fell in love with a man in his 30’s. I suffered a lot, realizing that it was an impossible situation. I then turned my heart to Jesus and Mary. An overwhelming spiritual experience while receiving Holy Communion made it evident to me that no man could ever give me this joy.”
Françoise was twenty when she graduated with a B.A. She was attracted to the contemplative life but thought that her health would be an impediment to such a lifestyle. So, she entered the SNJM novitiate, joining a teaching community that she knew well, but whose main mission of education did not attract her.
Her formation years were difficult and she felt she was going through a dark night of the senses. She made her first profession amidst great anguish. Now known as Sister Thérèse, she taught grades 10 and 11 for ten years, changing schools every year. She became physically and psychologically exhausted and sought therapy from a psychiatrist. After a time of rest and rehabilitation, Françoise helped out in the library at the Motherhouse. She had found her calling!
Françoise thrived when she lived in Epiphanie. The boarding school was closing and was being transformed into a residence for retired sisters. Françoise wanted to remain there to serve the population by opening a branch of the central library of the Mauricie region. With the encouragement of Sister Bérangère and the help of other sisters in the house, Sister Françoise put all her time and energy into the project which ended up being such a success that she worked there for fifteen years.
In 2013, forty years after the project’s inauguration, the municipality expressed their admiration to one of the pioneers by solemnly naming the library “The Françoise Angers Library”. There are 30,000 books in the new building which will benefit readers of all ages in Epiphanie For Françoise, this tribute was the ultimate recognition of her and her service to the people of Epiphanie.
It is worth noting that Sr. Francoise loved to sing and knew all the French-Canadian hymns and folk music. After many years of community service, especially as librarian in Valleyfield, Sainte-Martine and Sainte-Émélie convents, Sr. Françoise, whose health was already fragile, retired to the Maison Jésus-Marie infirmary. There she devoted herself fully to the ministry of prayer, preparing for her great meeting with the God of her love.