On September 4, the Church in Canada celebrates the life and witness of Blessed Dina Bélanger. When she was 24, she entered the novitiate of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in Sillery, Quebec. She received the religious habit the next year under the name of Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome, and made temporary vows on August 15, 1923. She pronounced perpetual vows on August 15, 1928. The following April, she had to enter the infirmary. She died on September 4, 1929, at the age of 32, the victim of pulmonary tuberculosis which had first been diagnosed in the spring of 1926. Dina Bélanger was beatified by Saint John Paul II on March 20, 1993, at the same time as Saint Claudine Thévenet, the founder in France of the religious congregation to which Dina belonged.
The following outline of her life and spirituality is part of an initiative by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life. As well, the CCCB English Sector Office for Evangelization and Catechesis has developed catechetical resources on the life and spirituality of Blessed Dina Bélanger.
The main text outlining her life and spirituality which has been posted on the CCCB Website is a translation from the liturgical booklets issued by the French Sector Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments as part of its ongoing series for all Canadian Saints and Blesseds. Printed copies of the complete booklets in French are on sale from CCCB Publications.
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On the Net:
Link to the biography of Blessed Dina Bélanger (PDF)
Link to catechetical resources in English
Link to the website of her Congregation (in French only)
