Renée Varon

Deceased Sisters

Renée Varon - France
16/11/1926 - 25/02/2020

Thank you to all of you for being here to accompany our Sister Renée as we farewell her on her return to God. The parishioners of Saint Paul must remember Sister Renée, a faithful practitioner of Sunday Mass on Saturday evening. At the back of the church, before and after mass, she took the time to speak with one or other, to ask for news of her many acquaintances, of her former students of Fenelon.

Todayit is her long, busy life that we come to offer to the Lord. A life which began in Vietnam.

Renée was born in Hanoi in 1926, her mother was Vietnamese, Buddhist and her father Martinique Catholic. At the age of three she lost her father. All of her education and culture then depended on her mother. Renée was to keep that imprint all her life. As a ward of the state, she was admitted as a boarder in the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions orphanage in Hanoi. She followed all her schooling there, primary and secondary, but on Sundays she was reunited with her mother. She kept links with several of her companions but especially with Mother Blanche. In 1947, when the political situation became critical for the French in Vietnam, it was with Mother Blanche that Renée arrived in France with a group of young Eurasians. Her mother remained in Hanoi where she died in 1975. Sister Renée had the joy of seeing her only once.

After Alsace, where she stayed with a family for several years, Renée went to Lyon. She worked in a youth centre on Rue du Doyenné. It was then that, through a Marist Father, she met the Marist Sisters. And in 1955, she entered the Novitiate of Saint-Prix in Val d'Oise. On the day of her religious profession she received the name of Sister Marie-Ancilla. "Servant", a program that she knew how to fulfil...

After her years of religious training, equipped with the Higher Primary School Certificate, she began a teaching career here in Toulon in 1958. Then, sent to Senegal in 1961, it was in the bush that she continued her teaching mission until in 1964. She was happy among the children of N'Diaganiao.

But in 1965, I don't know if at her own request, Renée changed direction.

She returned to Lyon to undertake nursing studies. In 1968, having obtained the diploma, she returned to N’Diaganiao. But this time as a nurse. The dispensary was always full. Sister Renée was above all a specialist in childbirth. We cannot say how many children she helped to be born! But in 1974, health problems forced her to return to France. Once cured, she resumed her nursing service, but this time at Cours Fénelon. How many generations of students did she see go through her infirmary until 2005? Everyone is aware of the miracle cure that gave our sister Renée her nickname - Sister Banana! She knew every student and every family. She watched the children of her former students arrive. A whole network was thus created around her: children, parents, teachers, all staff.

Once retired, she was to develop a third string in her bow! After educating the children and caring for the sick, she really took on the role of social worker. She called on adults whose profession she knew to help them find a job or a place to stay with a family. With the support of Fénelon officials, she collected food products and toys to distribute to poor families for the Christmas party. She sat with the directors to plead the cause of new migrant families wanting to register their child at Fénelon. She volunteered as a translator during the interviews.

Let us not forget either that, until these very last years, she remained present to the children of the Primary School, ensuring the catechesis of their Preparatory Course.

Her life changed dramatically over a year ago when she entered the Saint Jean clinic and then at the Catherine Labouré Nursing Home. It was then that her illness progressed, but slowly, still giving her time to maintain all her relationships. A new network was created around her: her friends, the friends of her friends, the nursing staff. A family climate that is so important to her, especially since the departure of her community for Lyon.

Isn’t that the most important message she’s left with us. "Love one another as I have loved you"! As I loved you ... We will remember her delicacy, her multiple attentions, her respect for people, her concern for the little ones, children, the poor, people far from their country.

Today we pray to Sister Renée to support the mission of the Marist Sisters who, like her, strive to bring love and justice to our kingdom. Sister Renée suffered from being the only Vietnamese Marist sister. Today two young Vietnamese girls are preparing to join us. The succession is assured! Renée, you can leave in peace and above all you will continue your mission by supporting them on their way. We count on you.

Sr Marie-Thérèse Terra

Saint Paul 28 February2020

Deceased Sisters

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