Obituary Notice
Sister Cecilia ‘Moso
Gilbert-Marie
entered Eternal Life on September 28, 2010
at age 89 years
in religious life 66 years
+ 2294
Sister Cecilia Moso, lovely daughter of the late Mr. Alphonse Ligory Hopo and Mrs Celina ‘Mamotsoane ‘Moso was born in Litsoetse Ha Mokoto, in Qacha’s neck diocese in the remote areas of Thaba-Tseka disctrict on October 18, 1920, last born of six children. She was christened on March 15, 1932 and confirmed on October 19, 1936 at the Paray Mission.
At an early stage, she attended School at Litsoetse Primary and Paray Primary (Thaba-Tseka). Her father died when she was very young, but her mother, with the help of her elder son who was already working, was able to care for the children. He saw to their education and made sure that they did not suffer materially or physically. Her mother was very devoted to her Church and was ever present to help in all the activities. She always wanted the best for them. Cecilia obeyed her mother and joined various movements such as Crusades, the Children of Mary and the Legion of Mary. She loved her mother dearly and always felt pity for her because she worked so hard as a single parent.
Life does not always bring what we expect for it is controlled by God, and we are unable to understand His ways for they are not always our ways. A few years after the father’s death, the oldest son, in whom they had placed their trust and who was the sole source of income, also died. Life became very difficult for the mother and her children. The family faced many hardships including hunger and all sorts of afflictions. Cecilia had to leave school and went to live with her elder sister to Qacha’s neck and her husband which turned out to be a bad decision. At least, the husband agreed to send her to school and that was an opportunity for Cecilia to meet religious, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, whom she admired and loved very much.
One day, Father Hamel, the parish priest, visited the village and talked about religious life and priesthood to a group of young people. Cecilia was very impressed and interested in this conference on vocations and with Father Hamel’s guidance, took all the means possible to get to know more about religious life. One day, Father Hamel invited her to meet his visitors who happened to be Sisters of Charity of Ottawa, (Grey Nuns of the Cross) who had come from Pitseng ha Tau, Leribe Our Lady of Pontmain Mission, and he convinced her that this was a good congregation he wished her to join. Cecilia loved it very much and felt she had to request permission from her family to do so. The permission was refused for many reasons which she could not mention. But Cecilia could not wait; so she escaped and went to Paray to join the Sisterhood. First, she went to the Marguerite Mary Convent and the Sisters sent her to the Pontmain Convent where she had to wait until she received her family’s permission and blessing before being officially admitted as a Postulant to begin her journey as a religious.
God has a special purpose for each one of us on earth. He chose us before our birth and gave each one of us special tasks to fulfill and Cecilia was no exception. In 1941, she was first called to Our Lady of Pontmain Convent, the place God had chosen for her, and where she received a warm welcome and was admitted as Postulant. After one year, she became a Novice. Cecilia and her colleagues enjoyed the initial formation and Cecilia, in particular, allowed herself to be moulded into “an instrument acceptable to God”. She enjoyed learning the history of the foundations by St. Marguerite d’Youville and Mother Bruyère and it gave her a better understanding of religious life. She passionately wanted to live the characteristics of our charism : service of the poor, the sick, and education of young people. On the other hand, she found community life difficult because it made her denounce her own will and improve her practice of fraternal love in order to fully live her religious commitments.
In 1944, she took her temporary vows under the name of Sr. Gilbert Marie and took her final vows in 1949; from then on, she was always available for the needs of the Congregation and of the Church, and accepted the will of God with piety and faith. As a pleasant young religious, Sister Cecilia `Moso became a source of happiness for the elderly Sisters whatever convent she was assigned to. She strived to learn from the good examples of religious life given by these Sisters and wanted to pass on these examples to those who came after her. Most of her life, she was a cook, and did her work with dedication and love for those she served. She also worked on a farm, and used to tell the other Sisters they should do likewise “because fresh food from the farm is healthier than preserved food”.
She worked in several Convents in Lesotho, among which we could name: St. Paul (Butha-Buthe), Our Lady of Pontmain, Seboche Hospital, the former Élisabeth Bruyère Convent (St. Monica) and St. Marie (Roma). She also worked at the Guardian Angel School, taking care of the children; that is where she became very interested in this type of work; the children called her grandmother. She was then assigned to the Paray Hospital where she performed agricultural work with love and dedication. She provided fresh food for the entire hospital and, after a while the hospital was self-sufficient with regards to food. Sr. Cecilia also cooked for the Sisters, the priests and the patients, and did it with love and mutual respect. Everybody in the hospital loved her, for she was like a mother to them, even taking time to listen and indeed, we could say that “Sister had a big ear and a small mouth”, for she listened more than she talked.
We will all remember her sense of humour and her determination to continue being helpful. She did not want to join the elderly Sisters at Paballong ea Molimo Convent, the Infirmary, because she felt that she could still help others and could take care of herself. Finally, she had to surrender, and was confined to bed for two years or so, before she returned to God the Father. She died peacefully on September 28, 2010.
May her soul rest in peace!
