Meeting with…Sister Marie-Chantal
MOTHER SUPERIOR AT THE VISITATION MONASTERY IN VOIRON
What is the Visitation Order?
Sister Marie-Chantal: It is a religious order created in 1610 François de Sales and Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal who, at a
period when there was a lot of corporal penance,differentiated itself by a way of expressing spirituality with
love and humility. Our motto: “everything by love, nothing by force”. Our monastery in Voiron dates from 1834.
How did you enter the order?
Sister Marie-Chantal: I come from Beaulieu, near Nice where I was a teacher. At first, I didn’t really see myself
entering religious life: when I discovered the monastery of Nice, the austerity of the place frightened me. I told
my brothers “if one day I want to enter the Visitation, it’s because I’ll have to lock myself away”. However, two years later, I chose to take the habit! My parents were not practicing, it was a friend who introduced me to the gospels and what I
experienced is comparable to a love story. I arrived in Voiron in 1960 as a “novice” (a nun who has not yet
made her vows). I am the only survivor of the monastery of Nice which has since closed.
What is life like in the monastery?
Sister Marie-Chantal: It’s like a family life governed by rules and schedules of work and prayer (7 to 8 times
a day). It’s a life of silence and contemplation, but also of conviviality. There are 20 of us committed women and
each has a role within the community: the bursar management of works, the infirmary, the kitchen, cleaning,
the wardrobe, etc. It’s the mother superior and her council who assign the roles according to the skills and desires
of each one. I was a novice mistress and elected superior several times, but my sisters had to understand that I didn’t know
how to sew because I was never given the wardrobe!
We have much more contact with the outside world than when I started. Volunteers come to help us maintain the premises, masses and offices are open to the public, we have a monastic hotel service and we organize a flea market every spring to finance the heavy renovation work. What do you think is the place of nuns today? Sister Marie-Chantal: Our primary role is prayer for the world, but also listening and welcoming. Our monastic hotel service is open to everyone, believers or not. These people may simply be looking for a place of silence or listening and who contribute according to their means. It is one of our only sources of income. Sometimes, social services send us people or families in need. We share the little we have by being “witnesses of Hope”