Sr. Jeannine Boutin Celebrates 80th Jubilee as a Daughter of Wisdom

Sr. Jeannine Boutin, DW, born on January 10, 1926, in Abitibi, Canada, is celebrating 80 years of religious life this year. In a recent interview at her residence at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Convent in Sound Beach, NY, our humble and wise 97-year-old sister shared her spiritual journey with us. She described how she was called to follow God at a very young age, as a teenager growing up in a French-Canadian countryside, and the blessings that followed throughout her life. Sr. Jeannine described her parents, Joseph Hilaire Boutin and Marie Jeanne Simard, as hardworking pioneers who built a home and farm for their family in northwest Quebec. She always helped with household chores and was devoted to her family, yet she felt a strong calling to leave home to follow and belong more deeply to Jesus - Wisdom Incarnate. “I wanted to give my life to God, even at age 15. I was reading books about the saints. I wanted to be like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, following her Little Way. And so, I entered the Novitiate at age 15.” (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, also known as The Little Flower of Jesus, is the Patroness of Foreign Missions. While very young, St. Thérèse did kind deeds for everyone and made little sacrifices, and she wanted to help priests bring people closer to God through her prayer, sacrifices, and suffering. Her “Little Way” means love and trust in God.)

Sr. Jeannine entered the Daughters of Wisdom convent on September 2, 1941, from the parish of St. Marc De Figuery in Canada. Sr. Jeannine took her final vows as a Daughter of Wisdom on August 2, 1943. She was sent to the United States to serve in ministry. A French-speaking native of Canada, she learned English after arriving in the United States. She ministered in Community Service in St. Charles, Brooklyn, New York, from 1943 to 1950, at the Novitiate and Montfort Missionaries Seminary in Litchfield, Connecticut, from 1950 to 1965, at Daughters of Wisdom in Ozone Park, New York, from 1965 to 1966, at Montfort Missionaries in Bay Shore, New York from 1966 to 1967, at Daughters of Wisdom in Litchfield, Connecticut from 1967 to 1970, and as Executive Housekeeper for Montfort Missionaries in Bay Shore from 1970 until her retirement.

She added, “I learned this from Father De Montfort: If you know everything and do not know Jesus Christ, you know nothing, but if you know Jesus Christ, you know, you know everything. And to me, it gave me such courage; I was able to continue my work, do my work with courage.”

Sr. Jeannine reflected with gratitude on her ministry as Executive Housekeeper for the Montfort Missionaries, for the seminary and retreat center.

“If somebody came and had a clean bed, I think it helped them to be restful and peaceful,” she said, “My work was a Montforian work, and I was following in the footsteps of Sr. Marie Louise. Because when the missionaries returned from their missions, Mother Marie Louise would encourage them.”