Sister Eugénie Hamel
Saint-Ernest
entered Eternal Life on January 6, 2011
at age 88 years
in religious life 67 years
+ 2278
1906
Whatever you have done for the least important of my followers
you have done for me.
(Matthew 25, 40)
This verse of the Gospel is one that Sr. Saint-Ernest frequently selected for her meditation; it actually inspired her life and sustained her during her 61 years of active apostolic life; it also brought her comfort during the last six years when her health failed and she practically lived as a recluse.
Those who knew Sr. Saint-Ernest have fond souvenirs of her as a competent, compassionate, inventive, and dedicated RN whose mission had no frontiers. She may have inherited those traits from her family, but with her love of God and others, she continually improved those traits.
Eugénie Hamel was born in a Canadian family where distance was never a problem. Her father was born at Saint-Sauveur, province of Quebec, and her mother, Valentine Labrosse, at Saint-Eugène, in Ontario. The couple was married at Marcelin in Saskatchewan.
Mr. Hamel aimed at bringing up his children in an area where they would be well educated to prepare them for their future. He decided to buy a farm in Simpson, Saskatchewan, located ten miles from the village, slightly north of Regina. It is in this peaceful region that the couple brought up their ten children including four boys, Paul, Armand, Wilfrid and Maurice, and six girls : Anne-Marie, Cécile Simone, Roseline, Eugénie and Dorothée.
Eugénie, sixth of the family, was born in Simpson on March 4, 1922. Because of distance from the church, the road conditions, the child was christened a month later in Holdfast. In 1929, the family moved to Marcelin, close to the church and the public school where the teachers were Sisters of Presentation of Mary. That is where Eugénie studied from Grade 1 to 11. For Grade 12, she was at the convent of the Sisters of Presentation where she had the pleasure of having Sr. Saint-Raymond-de-Pennafort, an aunt on her mother’s side, as a teacher.
Eugénie was very proud of her parents and would talk about them very affectionately. « We had excellent parents who instilled in us good religious values. My father was generous, a dedicated worker, fervent and good Christian. My mother was gentle and kind, competent devoted and loved by all. We never missed Sunday Mass and recited the Rosary together every evening. My brothers were altar boys.
Three of my mother’s sisters were religious; two in the Congregation of the Presentation of Mary and one with the Grey Nuns of the Cross. She was also related to our Sisters Sainte-Flavie-Domitille and Sainte-Germaine. It is not surprising to see four of the Hamel daughters become religious : Anne-Marie and Roseline with the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary and Eugénie and Dorothée with the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. »
Relatively young in age, Eugénie felt that she was called to become a religious and a missionary. Having completed her studies, she entered our Novitiate in Ottawa on August 27,1941, pronounced her first vows in 1943 under the name of Sr. Saint-Ernest, name which she insisted on keeping until her death.
Following her Novitiate, she became a student at the School of Nursing of the Ottawa General Hospital and became a Registered Nurse in 1947. She exercised her profession with competence and dedication in Ontario at the General Hospital and the Mother House; in Quebec at Saint-Michel Hospital in Buckingham and at Notre-Dame Convent in Hull; in Alberta at the Sainte-Croix Hospital in Spirit River. In the north, in James Bay, for 15 years, she was Superintendent of the hospitals in Fort George and Fort Albany. In these northern missions, she frequently played the role of dentist, pediatrician, etc. In extremely cold weather, she would travel by dog-drawn sleds to reach the sick in their tents or to assist a mother in childbirth.
Following that experience, obedience calls her to go to Lesotho, South Africa, where she worked at Pontmain and in Paray. Later on, she was assigned to ’M’a Mohau, a small village in the mountains where you had to travel on horseback. She then also served as superior at the Our Lady of Mercy Convent.
In this extremely poor area, providing food and medication for the sick and for the Sisters was a major problem. Being a woman of prayer and dedication, she was convinced that she was serving and loving Christ in each and everyone of the patients entrusted in her care despite the extent of her responsibilities, the long hours of work, all the patients received the attention and medical care needed. After ten years in this apostolic mission, Sr. Saint-Ernest returned to Canada to take care of her own health. According to our African Sister, Sr. Winifred Schofield, Sr. Saint-Ernest had a reputation of “Holy Sister” in Lesotho. Sisters, priests, patients praised her kindness, her patience and her great competence.
When she returned to Canada, she accepted to care for our sick Sisters at the Notre-Dame Convent. The following is a testimony given by one of these Sisters : « I lived with Sr. Saint-Ernest when, after her convalescence, she became responsible for the Sisters infirmary at the Notre-Dame Convent in Hull. I truly admired the ability and efficiency of this valuable nurse that even the doctors would consult at times. I was a witness of her extraordinary dedication as she was always available, gave excellent care to the sick, frequently visited the Sisters and did all that she could to relieve their pain. »
Life wasn’t easy for Sister Saint-Ernest, but supported by her faith, her prayer and her constant desire to do God’s will, she was able to accept being far from her family and the inability to be with them when there was a death in the family. One of the great joys in her life was the presence of her sister, Dorothée who joined her in the Congregation in 1959. On the other hand, it was difficult for her when Dorothée expired in May of 2009.
Those who really knew Sr. Saint-Ernest describe her as a plea-sant companion, interesting and well mannered. In her clear voice, she would participate in discussions, and had a good sense of humour. She enjoyed playing cards, and naturally would say “that was a good game” when she was the winner.
Despite her desire to keep on working with the sick, it became quite evident that her health was failing. On the 30th of September 2004, she was admitted to the infirmary at the Mother House where she would receive proper care. After a very busy life, she now had to get used to being waited on and being confined to her room. Again, she saw that as God’s will and found her refuge in prayer and contemplation.
Sr. Saint-Ernest was anxious to go to God the Father and He answered her prayers in the early hours of January 6 2011.
Goodbye dear Sister Saint-Ernest; may you be eternally happy in the house of God the Father and in the company of your beloved relatives who preceded you in heaven. Thank you for all that you did for us and in the name of the many persons you cared for, helped and supported because of your remarkable compassion.
Obituary Notice