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30 September 2020

Passing of Sr Constance Lacroix, CSJ

Sister Constance passed away on September 28th, 2020. She was in her 67th year of Religious Life as a Sister of St. Joseph in Canada. She was born in LaPasse, Ontario, a daughter of the late John and Florence.

Left to celebrate her precious life among us are her Sisters in the Congregation, her sisters Lillian (Pharand) and Susan Lacroix, her sister-in-law Germaine as well as many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her brother Raymond and her sister Mabel Adam.

Sister Constance was born and raised in LaPasse, a small francophone community. She grew up having a special devotion to St. Joseph, so when she heard of the works of the Sisters she knew that was her calling.

Education was the essence of her being. She received her teachers’ certificate and went on to obtain her BA at Ottawa University, a diploma in Theology at St. Paul’s University, and Master Degrees in Pastoral ‘Family Sciences’ and Religious Education. She taught in schools in the Pembroke Diocese – St. Luke’s in Petawawa, Holy Name in Pembroke, St. Alphonsus in Chapeau, as well as schools in Quyon, Des Joachims, Rolphton and Killaloe. She had a great desire to be a missionary which led her to our mission in Peru. While teaching there she studied Spanish, giving her three official languages to communicate. She held many administrative positions with organizations such as Holy Childhood, Canadian Religious Conference (Executive Secretary at the Ontario Office from 1999 to 2002) and Catholic Missions Council to name a few. Her successful teaching career culminated with her principalship in Peru and Canada.

In her retirement years in Pembroke she took on the position of Archivist for the Congregation. She was so proud of her community of Sisters and was adamant about preserving the history in all forms.

When the Pembroke Motherhouse closed, Sister Constance took up residence in Ottawa at Maison Accueil-Sagesse where she was comfortable and cared for extremely well.

The funeral liturgy will be celebrated at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Pembroke at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, October 2nd.

In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated for the Peru Mission and can be done through the following website – www.csjcanada.org.

Interment – St. Columba’s Cemetery, Pembroke.

Condolences can be sent to: pembroke@csjcanada.org