Sr. Marie-Blanche Leblanc, volunteer in Palliative Care

Daughter of Jerome Le Royer and Marie de la Ferre, it is in imitation of them, on the same road of Faith, that I see my mission:  to love as God loves, especially the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged,  to recognize Jesus in the person of the sick whom I encounter. It is in this spirit that I see my ministry of accompaniment with persons hospitalized in palliative care, at the Montreal Hotel Dieu
These sick persons, often arriving in the last stages of their lives, certainly need comfort, treatment for pain, but they are enormously in need of a presence, rich in tenderness and compassion. A volunteer in this service, I feel inhabited by this interior fire, as were our founders.  I am invited to contemplate Jesus present in my brothers and sisters who are advancing on the road which leads to the Eternal.

In this hospital world I am called to respect religious pluralism, atheism.  Each person is unique, that is why when I meet a brother or a sister, it is always a new experience… During my visits with this suffering humanity, I try to be the image of Jesus.  I remain beside the person, I do not go ahead, sometimes I keep silent while holding the hand of the other, a hand which comforts, which leads the sick person to his Source.  My accompaniment then becomes prayer.
I am privileged to live this ministry through which I discover more and more the God of Jesus Christ who is a God of Love.  This time given freely to the suffering person helps growth in all levels of the being.  All these visits are precious moments of life and I give thanks to God for being able to be present in this world of suffering and to collaborate evermore with humanity in the health world.