Sister runs the parish

Sr. Dolorese Dery animates Edmonton's oldest parish

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

But God crossed her path and in 1960, just a year after she became a teacher, Dery joined the Oblate Missionary Sisters, a St. Boniface, Man.-based religious congregation.

She is happy she did, especially because religious life has allowed her to serve in ways she never imagined.

Over the past 13 years, Dery has carved a niche for herself in the Church. She is the closest one can get to being a parish pastor. She is administrator or, as she puts it, "animator," of St. Joachim's Parish, Edmonton's oldest Catholic parish, founded in 1859.

The francophone parish of 207 families has no resident priest, only a dominical vicar who says Sunday Mass, and it's Dery who is responsible for parish life.

"My role is to make sure that everything works," she says matter-of-factly. "I'm responsible for everything."

Responsible for everything

But administering the sacraments is off limits to Dery. "I have no authority to do any sacraments," she explains. "I cannot celebrate Mass. I cannot hear confessions. I cannot marry people. I cannot give the Sacrament of the Sick."

In remote parishes, bishops sometimes allow sisters and lay people to perform Baptisms, funerals and marriages, but at St. Joachim there has been no need for that.

But that doesn't bother Dery. "I do my share; I prepare the road for someone else to take over and I have no problem with that.

"Actually if I was the parish priest here, with all that I have to do, it would be too much. I already have more than plenty."

Dery lives in the rectory and, as a result, sometimes puts in more than her fair share of time. Some days Dery spends whole evenings interviewing couples who want to get married at St. Joachim's.

Many couples, a good number from outside the parish, choose to wed at the small, picturesque church at 9928-110 St.

"Being parish administrator is a lot of work, but I love it," she says. "I love being here."

Born into a French Catholic family in Cold Lake, Dery dreamed of becoming a teacher when she was a little girl. Religious life never figured in her plans.

"Being parish administrator is a lot of work, but I love it." - Sr. Dolorese Dery

Her first awakening to religious life came when she was eight, but it wasn't that serious. One day while playing with her sister Jeannine in the living room, she overheard her mom tell her dad, "It would be nice to have a priest or a sister in our family." Dery's immediate reaction was, "Maybe my sister can go, not me."

After high school, Dery attended normal school in Quebec and made her dream of becoming a teacher come true.

She got her first job in 1959 in her hometown at a Catholic elementary school operated by Missionary Oblate Sisters, whom she soon came to admire. But it wasn't the sisters who recruited her; it was the town's priest. "The priest asked me if I would want to be a sister one day. I kind of laughed at him and said, "Me, a sister?' It didn't seem like it would be me."

But somehow it happened and on Aug. 17, 1960 Dery left home to join the Manitoba-based Oblate Sisters. She professed her permanent vows in February 1963.

"Even if within me I didn't want to (join) because I had what I wanted - to be a teacher - there was something that told me that if I was a sister I could be a teacher all my life," Dery said. Her call came with little fanfare. "I heard no great voices from above but it seemed like I said 'yes' and I was comfortable with that."

Four decades after she embraced religious life, Dery doesn't feel she had to give anything up. "I have no regrets," she said. "I love children and I've got many more than I would have had if I had been married."

Dery taught elementary school in Cold Lake and Nampa for 21 years, until she retired in 1986. In Nampa, near Grande Prairie, she was school principal for five years.

With her teaching career over, Dery felt she could serve in other ministries. But first she had to upgrade her pastoral skills. Her community sent her to St. Paul University in Ottawa to study theology and pastoral animation in French, her native language.

After graduation, she ended up as administrator of St. Joachim's Parish in August 1991. The Oblates of Mary Immaculate, who were in charge of the parish, had decided to hire a lay administrator because they were unable to find a priest.

Beyond my reach

Her knowledge of the historic St. Joachim's Parish was limited. But as she studied the parish history it dawned on her that her grandfather was a pioneer who had worked on the High Level Bridge and attended St. Joachim's. "That really struck me so I talked to him and I said, 'Grandpa, you were here before I was here so you are going to make sure that I do things right.'"

Dery's dedication and her good nature have paid off and today she is a successful lay administrator. Things run smoothly at St. Joachim's with parishioners involved on several committees. Many of those whom she serves show her their appreciation, either through a little thank you card or a pat on the back and a word of encouragement.

"I get a lot of satisfaction from this job. I'm not in the teaching field anymore but I'm still teaching to promote the Church and the Gospels. And that's very rewarding."

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