BIDDEFORD — Sister Rose Anna Ouellette, SSS, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 18, after two-and-a-half months at the infirmary of St. Joseph’s Convent in Biddeford after a second bout with cancer.
Sister was born Feb. 4, 1937, in Jay, the daughter of Anna (Henry) and Robert Ouellette. She pronounced her perpetual vows as a Servant of the Blessed Sacrament on Feb. 2, 1991, at the Waterville convent on Silver Street. In addition to her religious community, she is mourned by family and friends, especially her brothers Daniel Ouellette of Scarborough and Jean Louis Ouellette of Jay.
Sister studied in Jay at St. Rose of Lima parochial school and graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in South Berwick. After many years working at the shoe factories in Jay she entered the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for one year and left for a more cloistered order. She entered the visitation Nuns in Toledo, Ohio, and was there for 12 years.
She missed the Blessed Sacrament Exposed, her favorite form of prayer, and returned to the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament in May of 1983 where, except for a brief mission in Pueblo, Colorado, she spent the last 35 years of her life. While in community she served as community treasurer as well as sacristan for several years, caring also for the elderly sisters.
Sister experienced various tragedies in the course of her lifetime, including the murder of two sisters at the Waterville convent in 1996. She suffered from anxiety and severe physical pain 24/7. She was fond of this quotation from Paul Claudel, “Jesus did not come to explain away suffering or remove it. He came to fill it with His presence.”
A time of gathering and visitation will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 24, at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, 101 Silver St., Waterville, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m., also in the chapel. Burial will be in the convent cemetery after the funeral. All are welcome.
Please visit www.veilleuxfuneralhome.com to share condolences, memories and tributes with Sister’s family.
Rose Anna Ouellette
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