In the subdued sanctuary of the chapel, where shadow and light intermingle, a solemn assembly gathers in reverence, paying tribute to a life that has reached its mortal limits. Here, within the embrace of sacred walls, echoes the elegy of Sister Jacqueline Rollet, her spirit now integrated into the celestial choir.

Sister Victoria Zirra, recently appointed leader of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles (OLA) of the Province of France, delivered her tribute on behalf of the Council, the OLA Sisters, and herself: “Dear Sister Jacqueline,” she declared, “It was on Easter Monday, April 1, 2024, that you departed from this earth, where you spent 97 years of your life. Today, we gather around you to bid you farewell.”

From 1949 to 1955, Sister Jacqueline worked as a teacher in Ivory Coast. She returned to France in 1955 for health reasons and worked in several French cities. She entered the Saint-Francis of Assisi Nursing Home in December 2020 and lived there for 4 years. She made it a point to be present among the residents and appreciated the services offered by the home as well as the staff’s availability to her. From her window, she admired Notre-Dame de Fourvière, a place dear to all residents of Lyon!

“Sister Jacqueline, we want to say THANK YOU to God for the gift of your life in his service, for the gift of yourself that your family made to the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles,” Sister Zirra added.

The air, darkened by mourning, carries murmurs of prayers mingled with discreet tears flowing from faces, each tear bearing witness to the profound impact of her existence. The voices of hymns caress the hearts of the bereaved, a melody of both sadness and comfort, a symphony of memories for the departed soul.

Sister Danielle Billottet, unable to attend the funeral, had her tribute read by Sister Claire Mason, head of the Sisters at the St. Francis of Assisi nursing home, in the following terms: “Jacqueline, I think you wouldn’t really accept us speaking for you, but you only tell us: ‘MY LIFE IS SUMMED UP IN A THANK YOU’. So, allow us to slip our thanks into your THANK YOU.”

It is recorded in the annals that Sister Jacqueline joined the NDA on the day of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945, and took her first vows in March 1948.

“I remember your beginnings, as you told me many times: you went to the surrounding villages, looking for little girls for school. And as material for the notebooks, you would collect old cement bags, separate the layers, and once cut, you would make them into notebooks… what a start!” recalls Sister Billottet.

“I remember those last difficult moments when your breath failed you. Difficult to manage. Ear against your mouth, we had to hear your question: ‘WHY? WHY ALL THIS?’ How not to recognize in this ‘why’, THE WHY OF JESUS ON THE CROSS? But in you, never any revolt, you who said proudly to be ‘beautiful and rebellious’, you learned to gradually let yourself be shaped by physical dependence, like a docile land in the hands of the potter. MY LIFE IS A THANK YOU: what could be more beautiful than offering it in this Eucharist, in this chapel of the family of the African Missions,” she concluded.

Before the altar and in the heart of this solemn assembly of NDA Sisters and SMA priests, the coffin containing Jaqueline’s remains was respectfully placed by funeral agents dressed in navy blue suits.

Father Augustin Placide, director of the International Missionary House (MIM), clad in Easter colors, stood before the assembly, his solemn voice speaking of faith, devotion, a life dedicated to service and sacrifice. His words, like psalms, resonated through the space, weaving a tapestry of comfort and consolation for the grieving hearts gathered in communion.

During his homily, Father Augustin Placide emphasized that “our sister has entered into her Easter, that is, she has entered into the Lord’s Easter, in whom life always has the last word.”

The MIM director concluded by stating that “Sister Jacqueline’s greatest fault is that she loves Jesus too much” and that “this is the great fault of all of you, all the Sisters, for we live in a world today where giving one’s life for Christ is a challenge.”

In the moments of silence that followed, the NDA sisters and SMA priests gathered around Sister Jacqueline’s coffin, offering their final farewells and praying for her eternal rest while taking turns sprinkling her remains with holy water.

Thus, amidst flickering candles and the fragrance of flowers, the aged sister’s funeral Mass unfolds, a sacred rite, a testimony to the enduring power of faith and the eternal promise of divine grace. Though she may have left this earthly world, her spirit lives on in the hearts of those who loved her, a guiding light in the darkness, a beacon of eternal hope.