Sr Laurence’s Testimony

“I knew the Cenacle when I was a nurse in intensive care and I was looking for a mass on Sundays, my very irregular schedule only allowed me to go there every other week. I had been advised to look at the religious congregations, which could have more convenient mass times for me. And I found myself with the Cenacle Sisters, or rather with the lay volunteers, who didn’t sing very well !

I was then accompanied in faith by a sister from the Cenacle. But I wasn’t thinking of religious life at all, I was thinking of getting married, of family life. I wanted to have a lot of children so that I could play board games, my brother and I, as a couple, we couldn’t play any games! I was very active in the national team of the Guides of France, I liked it very much, and when one of the young women of the team announced to us that she was entering religious life, I started to cry, but not with sadness! I realised that it was possible, if she who was like me: fulfilled, joyful, outgoing and living as she wanted, could do it.

The sister from the Cenacle who accompanied me spoke to me about a lot of congregations, but at first she didn’t mention the Cenacle! It was me who spoke to her about it. In my career as a nurse, I was thinking of becoming a nurse manager and forming teams. And in my work in childcare, I really liked taking care of the parents and families of sick children. And now that’s what I do, training and support!

If I had to describe the Cenacle in three words: space; trust; joy.”

Sister Laurence, Vogan community (Togo)