Pope John Paul II, at the beatification Mass celebrated on September 11, 1984 in Montreal's Jarry Park offered these remarks about Mother Marie-Léonie Paradis in his homily.
Today, a new name has been added to the living book of the Saints and Blessed of the Church who have lived on Canadian soil for centuries: Sister Marie-Léonie Paradis.
This local woman, humble among the humble, takes her place today among those whom God has raised to glory, and I am delighted that such a beatification is taking place for the first time in Canada, which was her homeland.
Born of simple, poor and virtuous parents, she quickly grasped the beauty of religious life and committed herself to it through her vows with the Marianist Sisters of Holy Cross. She never questioned this gift to God, even in the midst of the trials of community life in New York and Indiana. And when she was appointed to serve at a college in Memramcook, Acadia, her life as a nun was so radiant that she spontaneously gathered around her young girls who also wanted to dedicate their lives to God. With them, and thanks to the understanding of Monseigneur LaRocque, Bishop of Sherbrooke, she founded the congregation of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, still flourishing and so appreciated.
Without ever doubting her calling, she often asked: "Lord, show me your ways" to find out the concrete form of her service in the Church. She found and proposed to her spiritual daughters a particular commitment: the service of houses of education, the service of seminaries, of priests' houses. She was not afraid of the various forms of manual labor that are the lot of so many people today, and that were honored in the Holy Family, in the very life of Jesus in Nazareth. It was there that she saw God's will for her life. It was in carrying out these tasks that she found God. With the sacrifices inherent in this work, but offered out of love, she experienced profound joy and peace. She knew she was joining the fundamental attitude of Christ, "who came not to be served but to serve." She was deeply moved by the greatness of the Eucharist, and the greatness of the priesthood in the service of the Eucharist: this is one of the secrets of her spiritual motivation. (...)
This latest beatification of a Canadian nun reminds us that Canada has benefited abundantly from the contribution of numerous religious communities, in every sector of ecclesial and social life: contemplative prayer, education, assistance to the poor, hospital care, apostolates of every kind. This is a great grace. And if, today, services can be diverse and evolve according to needs, the religious vocation remains a marvelous gift from God, an unparalleled witness, a prophetic charism essential to the Church, not only for the very appreciable services taken on by the Sisters, but first and foremost to signify the gratuity of love in a nuptial gift to Christ, in total consecration to His redemptive Work.
And I would like to ask all Christians gathered here this question: do the people of Canada still appreciate this grace? Do they help nuns to find and strengthen their vocations? And you, dear Sisters, do you appreciate the greatness of God's call and the radically evangelical lifestyle that corresponds to this gift?
Saint John Paul II
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