November 9, 2009 (Catholic education, Catholic schools)

By DANIELLE KOLTON, B.Ed, PBD, M.A. – Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba

Introduction

Mother Marie-Rose Durocher (1811 – 1849), the first Canadian foundress of a teaching order in Canada, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, was a servant-leader who demonstrated a natural desire to serve which manifested itself in her commitment to Catholic education for young women.

Historical Context

The story of Mother Marie-Rose is set in rural Québec in the early to mid-1800s during a historically and politically contentious time. The Durham Report recommended the assimilation of French Catholics both religiously and linguistically (Pelletir-Baillargeon,1982), and the Charter of Education in Québec created outrage against school taxes. French Canadian families did not want to send their children to school for fear of Anglicization, and parents reacted violently to the changes by withdrawing their children from school and going so far as to burn down numerous schools. By 1837, only three rural schools remained open in Lower Canada, a decrease of 96% over the previous seven years (Laberge, 1979); it is also estimated that 90% of the rural population in 1843 was illiterate (Pelletir-Baillargeon, 1982). This lack of education created intemperance, disorder, poverty, and low standards of morality (Duval, 1985). Only families with financial means could afford to educate their children by sending them to boarding schools in urban areas. Otherwise, education was left to the discretion of poor, rural families.

Methodology

An archival review of numerous biographical accounts, personal interviews, analysis of the excerpts from the letters of Mother Marie-Rose, and a stay in the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary Congregational House in Québec provided opportunities to experience primary sources and historically significant locations for this case profile. This created a rich research experience from which to analyze, through the servant-leadership lens, the development of a young woman into a community leader within the context of the development of Catholic education in Canada.

Table 1 The Development of Mother Marie-Rose as a Servant-Leader

Results

Mother Marie-Rose surmounted many obstacles to realize the refuge to which she was called. From an early age, her practice was strongly aligned with the attributes of a servant-leader which are derived from Robert Greenleaf’s depiction of servant-leadership: awareness, listening, empathy, conceptualization, stewardship, persuasion, commitment to growth, community building, healing, and foresight. The study of her demeanor, life circumstances, and tenacity reveals a delineated progression in the development of these servant-leadership attributes which led her to contemplate, envision,  build, and sustain a community of service in Catholic education. The stages progress in an ascending order and include more complex integration of the attributes from the previous stages. Table 1 outlines the skills, values, and purposes indicated in Mother Marie-Rose’s thirty-eight year life journey that led her to consciously and humbly serve first and, in so doing, become recognized as a leader.

The practice of servant-leadership is supported by the ability of the leader to make a commitment to the growth of others so that they, in turn, serve:

“The best test, and most difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?” (Greenleaf,1970, p. 15). This is at the root of Mother Marie-Rose’s characterization as a servant-leader: the moral fervour that lives on in so many who have kept her mission alive is a testament to her commitment: today, 166 years after it began under her direction, the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary continues to dedicate its work to children and women, the full development of the human person, the underprivileged and oppressed, and social justice initiatives.

Analysis

This biographical review of Mother Marie-Rose’s life, as reviewed and applied to servant-leadership attributes, provides a comprehensive case from which to examine the development and practices of a servant-leader:

• “New leadership … will come as we who lead find the courage to take an inner journey toward both our shadows and our light, a journey that, faithfully pursued, will take us beyond ourselves” (Palmer, 1998, p. 208). Mother Marie-Rose developed into a leader from the inside out: her journey began in an awareness of her moral drive and developed from both an interior process of contemplation and exterior processes of building relationships, cultivating community, conceptualizing, and serving.
• The practice of servant-leadership is steeped in a commitment to demonstrating care and concern for the common good (Greenleaf, 1970). The values of servant-leadership are therefore rooted in encouraging the heart and spirit of human beings. Although business-minded and remarkably independent for a women of the times, she led with her heart because of her ability to relate and connect with people. She led by caring and demonstrated the ability to balance toughness and tenderness; fortitude and gratitude; and passion and compassion. Her unwavering focus was on the poor and marginalized.
• Mother Marie-Rose took many risks and experienced continual setbacks.  “People and organizations not only survive but thrive in chaos, there is vitality in the play of chaotic energy” (Palmer, 1998, p. 206). It was precisely this energy that sustained Mother Marie-Rose’s vision despite adversity, and it created the momentum for a desirable future that led to sustainable service to others; with both courage and fortitude, she was challenged to be creative, persuasive, insightful, and analytical. “That her work prospered and expanded so rapidly is proof of her prophetic daring and belief in the future” (Allison, 1981, p. 2).

Acknowledgements

Thank you to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary for hosting me as a researching guest at the Congregational House in Longueuil. Thank you to Sr. Mary Gorman, SNJM Manitoba archivist, for her support throughout this project.

Danielle Kolton is a Principal at St. Ignatius School in Winnipeg Manitoba. The above is a reformatting of a power point presentation on a larger academic paper of the same name.

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