A day of joy in Madagascar !

There are days when everything seems to belong to a special time of grace, well beyond what our hearts and spirits are capable of imagining or even hoping! This Sunday, 27th November 2022 will remain one of these moments “of an eternity of happiness”, for a people, a neighbourhood, the Church, and all of us Little Sisters, laity and friends.

Indeed, assembled together in the cathedral of Fianarantsoa in Madagascar, all who are “invited to the wedding” did not miss this rendez-vous, in order to participate in the prayer for the official opening of the Special Tribunal for the recognition of the presumed miracle of the healing of Sidonie, in favour of the beatification of the Venerable Etienne PERNET.

In the presence of Nathalie, Superior General, and Dominique, General Councillor, of the people and of the Church, we inaugurated this first stage. What deep joy for all of us, and our friends who came to fill the cathedral! Words are too inadequate to reveal the immense happiness in our hearts to live this moment of grace. As one woman, a witness said, “it isn’t every day, in our lives, that we are asked to be witnesses and above all in the presence of the Bishop…” The emotion is deep and personal!
United to all those beyond our borders, who joined us by their prayer, we entered into the solemnity of the prayer, presided over by the Bishop, Mgr. Fulgence. With one heart and one soul, through the hymns and prayers, we gave thanks to God for His presence in our lives and for the exceptional grace in the life of Sidonie.

After that, Mgr Fulgence called each of the five members of the Special Tribunal, responsible for hearing the witnesses, to present their letters of mission: two priests, canon lawyers, an expert doctor, Odile (lsa) as vice postulator, and a priest representing the Bishop. The 15 witnesses, having received a letter of convocation, were then invited, to follow the bishop in procession, and the members of the Tribunal to begin this process of inquiry.

Little by little, the tension mounts.
A few minutes later we met, the 15 witnesses, with the members of the Tribunal, in a big meeting room in the Bishopric. A silence ‘of intimidation’ reigned for all of us witnesses, because we didn’t know exactly how the interrogation would be conducted, or how we would be interrogated!… Happily, the bishop explained, simply and briefly, how the process would unfold, that is, that each witness would be called separately and alone to be heard before the Tribunal. So we planned the order in which each of the witnesses would be called. And to add to the solemnity of the occasion, each of us, including the members of the Tribunal, were invited to swear, with our hand on the Bible, and to sign a paper, committing ourselves personally, to this process, thus marking its serious and official tone.

It was thus that during 3 days, the witnesses in turn, gave their testimony. Each half day, 3 or 4 of us went to the bishopric accompanied by Odile, who was an encouraging presence to help everyone in this solemn and demanding exercise. As each one returned from the tribunal, their fear and intimidation was transformed into relief, then thanksgiving and a certain pride. As I was among the first to witness, I can say that the depth of the experience of the moment was
extraordinary. Everything is in the transparency of one’s being, to attempt to say, to proclaim, very humbly, the grandeur of the God of Life, and of the manifestation of His loving power in the life of Sidonie. The Spirit is really present there.

At the end of these 3 days, we had a little celebration, a moment of conviviality with all the witnesses, at the community of Sahalava, with Nathalie and Dominique, to give thanks together and to thank each other too, for the strength of these days. Nathalie too thanked each one for having accepted to witness; the witnesses too spoke of the power of the confidence accorded to them.

These days will remain in our memory as a great feast of Heaven, where the faith of the Malagasy people, and the grace of this miracle, are but one moment in a sacred history. The adventure doesn’t stop here! We are only at the beginning! The members of the Tribunal will draw up their report, which will be sent to Rome.
Together we want to continue to proclaim our faith and to pray that this process could lead to the beatification, one day, of Etienne Pernet! With all the people of Sahalava, and the witnesses, we can say again: “We believe in the intercession and intervention of all the Saints of heaven and of our ancestors Mary, Etienne Pernet, Antoinette Fage… they are already in the house of the Father, and their powers surpass ours.”

Sabine Pulh-LSA