Sister Linda (Mary Joseph) LeBlanc

Sister Linda (Mary Joseph) LeBlanc lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, for most of her life. She felt God calling her to religious life while still in elementary school. When she came to know the Presentation congregation at St. Bernard’s High School, Linda got the sense that “the sisters were so happy” and felt drawn to this joy. With both she and her sister joining the order, her parents soon realized they were gaining many more “daughters” as they invited other sisters to their home for holidays if they couldn’t get to their own homes further away.
In joining the order, Linda shares, “I don’t think I thought about what (ministry) I wanted to do. I just wanted to serve God.”

Sister served as a teacher for a few years and was asked to help in the sisters’ infirmary during the summers. She loved this experience and began the program to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN).

“I felt that is what God wanted me to do,” she says. “I was so happy to take care of our sisters. It was such a privilege to help them.”

While working in the sisters’ infirmary for 22 years, Linda also ministered at a nearby hospital to get more experience. When the time came for someone else to take over at the convent health care center, she moved into full time ministry at nearby hospitals and served as a visiting nurse.

“God was good to me. I met so many wonderful people. I was able to care for them and they, in turn, gave me so much,” she explains.

During these years Linda and her sister, Pauline, along with other sisters and associates, began a ministry of presence called Nano’s Nook at St. Joseph’s Parish. Every Saturday morning the sisters would have coffee and treats for anyone who wanted to join them. “People often just need someone to listen,” Linda explains. They added school supply and Christmas projects, and Linda also took blood pressures at the parish once a month.

About eight years ago Sister was asked to return to caring for the sisters as their healthcare coordinator in Massachusetts. She has seen the challenges of closing the health care center and sending sisters to someone else for care, as well as the closing of the Church Street convent last year. Through it all, she has been a constant presence for her sisters.

“It is important that all the sisters, even those now in nursing homes, realize that they are still a part of the community and still have something to give,” Sister shares.

Living vowed life in community has been a gift and Linda finds “the support and love from one another” to be the most important aspect of vowed life. “We all try to support one another,” she explains. “Being in union with the sisters and remembering that Christ has no body but mine. I can reach out to others and try to be Christ to them.”