Sister Claire celebrates golden jubilee, renews vows |13 September 2019

Sister Claire leading the procession into the church

On September 12, 1969 Sister Claire Houareau took her vows of obedience, chastity and poverty and yesterday, exactly 50 years later, she renewed these religious vows.

This was during a thanksgiving mass held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to celebrate Sister Claire’s golden jubilee.

Present at the mass were her brothers and sisters along with various other family members, fellow nuns from various convents, friends of Sister Claire and a large number of faithfuls.

The mass was presided by Father David Alcindor and assisted by Father Collin Underwood.

In a small biography read out by Sister Agnes, Sister Claire of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny initially left her family and everything else that she knew in 1966 to undertake her spiritual studies and training as nurse and midwife in France.

Sister Agnes went on to describe Sister Claire as a gift from God, the same God who has led Sister Claire to carry out various functions such as superior and deputy provincial leader.

Becoming a nun and serving others, particularly the poor and vulnerable, is a vocation that Sister Claire had felt as her calling since her secondary school days and she has not looked back since.

The homily given by Father Alcindor was based on a scripture from St John (15: 9-17) in which Jesus speaks of the importance of respecting his commandment to love one another, faithfulness and friendship.

Father Alcindor explored these themes through the life of Sister Claire who has devoted her years to midwifery in Seychelles, helping to deliver a large number of babies including Father Underwood, and her various works in Tanzania where she is currently teaching English in a remote part of the East African country.

As first stated by Sister Agnes, Father Alcindor also noted that Sister Claire was chosen by Jesus as a gift to the Church.

He commended her continued resolve to follow this noble path that will bring “neither money nor fame” but which only asks one to serve the Lord in return for the joy of Jesus.

“We are so thankful for all the work you have done and which you shall continue to do in Tanzania,” he noted.

“Sister Claire has known joy. She heeded the Lord’s call and has continued on her journey without knowing exactly where God was leading her to and none of us knows where God will take us but we have to be ready,” he said while taking notes from Sister Claire’s life.

Father Alcindor concluded by asking God to continue to renew Sister Claire’s strengths to help her carry out her tasks just as He has done so for the last 50 years.