Missionary Sisters of The Immaculate Conception
A dream that came true
Milestone 1: The Dream of the Wheat Field (The Emotional Origin)
At the age of 11, in Marieville (Canada), Délia Tétreault had a mystical experience that would shape the destiny of thousands of lives: she contemplated an immense field of golden wheat, where each ear was miraculously transformed into the face of a child from a different culture. She understood immediately that those children were waiting to know the love of God. Although traditional convents rejected her due to her fragile health, her unshakeable faith never faded. That vivid childhood dream became the driving force behind a work of global reach.
Milestone 2: The Audacity of 1902 and the Flowering in Canada
Against all odds, in 1902, Délia founded a small apostolic school in Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, with only three companions and scarce resources. It was the birth of the first missionary institute in the Americas. Definitive recognition arrived providentially in 1904. Upon presenting this humble project in Rome, Pope Pius X exclaimed with visionary enthusiasm: “Found, found, Your Excellency!... You shall be called the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.”
While the missionary fire was preparing to cross borders, Délia multiplied initiatives on Canadian soil to awaken the missionary consciousness among the laity:
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Creation of the M.I.C. Women's Auxiliary Association.
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Organization of closed retreats for women and young girls.
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A key contribution to the foundation of the foreign missions seminary (Séminaire des Missions-Étrangères).
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Welcome and pastoral services for Chinese immigrants in Canada.
Milestone 3: The Time of Growth and the Missions in Asia (1909)
“The trunk lengthens and branches out, a generous sap floods and vivifies it; the numerous branches burst into buds, announcing the flowering of a new horizon.”
The universal character of the congregation was consolidated on September 8, 1909, when a first group of six young professed sisters set out for Canton, China. In an era when crossing oceans meant long, uncertain, and dangerous voyages by ship, leaving meant saying goodbye forever. Upon arrival, they courageously took on the opening of nurseries for abandoned babies, orphanages, and schools.
In October 1913, the Shek Lung leprosarium on St. Mary's Island was entrusted to the missionaries. The nursing sisters gave themselves body and soul to heal the terrible wounds of the patients and win their trust through pure tenderness, receiving just five cents a day per person from the government. For nearly half a century, they opened dispensaries, psychiatric hospitals, and training centers for local religious sisters.
The Time of Storms and Resistance
“Storms lash out without mercy or clemency; the vigorous trunk resists with vehemence, but the branches, bent by the wind, weep for the leaves too quickly swept away.”
Between 1911 and 1914, the Chinese Revolution brought insecurity and constant gunfire near the sisters' house. In June 1918, a dreadful flood struck the leprosarium. The sisters' chronicles reflect their unshakeable spirit:
“The water is rising without stopping. We have had to shelter the patients in our own house... We even rejoice to share our roof with the most dispossessed of this world.”
After decades of wars and political changes, the new regime expelled foreign missionaries. With profound sorrow, the M.I.C. missions—with the exception of one sister of Chinese origin, Sister Lucia Ho—had to leave that beloved land in 1953, scattering their seeds toward new countries.
Milestone 4: The Missionary Press and Délia's Eternal Legacy
Délia Tétreault was also a pioneer in communication media. In 1920, she launched the magazine Le Précurseur (The Precursor). In the basements of the Motherhouse, the sisters themselves became photographers, typographers, and printers, understanding that the press was the key to spreading the missionary fire.
Due to her fragile health, Mother Délia was never able to fulfill her great dream of visiting her missions abroad. Her final years were marked by the mystery of suffering; following a stroke, she was left increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak. She endured eight years of illness with absolute serenity. On January 25, 1939, upon being relieved of her duty as Superior General, she placed her hand over her successor and distinctly pronounced: “I am very happy.”
On October 1, 1941, Mother Délia peacefully passed away in Montreal. The newspaper La Patrie paid tribute to her with a historic headline: “A saint has just died, leaving behind an immense work.”
Like the grain of wheat that falls into the earth to bear fruit, Mother Délia's departure transformed her legacy into an inexhaustible sowing. The history of the Institute did not stop in that room in Montreal; it expanded with even greater force across the world. The tree she planted has continued to extend its branches through new nationalities, realities, and ministries. Today, the original fire remains intact: we are a living congregation that walks with our feet in the present and our eyes on the future, writing day by day the continuation of a dream that knows no borders.