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Who are we?

Introducing the members of Daughters of St. Paul

Sr. Maria Francesca Yoko Matsuoka

Sr. Maria Francesca

In early spring when I was in the third year of the elementary school, the leader Y who had been taking care of the young classes at the church, left us because she was going to enter the Convent S. On a snowy sunday, she invited us to her entrance ceremony.
The small chapel was neat, but somehow had an atmosphere of pressure. After the short ceremony, mother superior invited us into her room and talked to us.

" Is there anyone among you, who would like to enter the congregation S, when you grow up ?"
A-ko who was a year younger, raised her hand and said
clearly .yes..When she heard that our leader Y was going to enter the Congregation S, she was saying that she too wanted to follow her. In my heart, I was thinking that I also wanted to become a nun. But as I did not know which convent, I remained silent. Mother superior gave A-ko, a big medal of Saint Mary with color.

" Is anybody else wish to become a nun, but does not know which congregation ? "To this next question of Mother superior, I thought " this is it !" and a conviction was born.

I raised my hand, and Mother superior gave me a small "miraculous medal" together with other children. It was not the same medal as A-ko, but this golden medal was very precious to me, because it was like a sign of my conviction and declaration.

When I was in my third year of junior high, I started to think about which congregation I would like to enter. My mother encouraged me to read a book titled " Fabiola", and I got to know the beauty of martyrs during the early church. I began to be interested in life of saints and to long for their closeness with God.

One day, I talked to a Sister from the Congregation F, and then

visited the convent from time to time. Soon after, I was invited to retreats and also got to know other congregations too.

It was almost ten years later that I made my decision of entering the Congregation of Daughters of St. Paul. Their success of the difficult work in India in producing the film of Mother Teresa, and
their publicity by comics in Catholic News Paper, gave me such an impression and I was attracted by their spirit of going ahead of the time.

God took care of me and brought me up like a little flower. And still now He keeps taking care of me.

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