women of achievement

Sister Joelle Aflague

The first time that she saw a sister, Joelle Aflague was in junior high school in Guam. She was instantly struck by the sisters’ lifestyle. “It’s not about money,” she remembers thinking. “I want to do something that makes a difference, something other than working for money.”

But Joelle was independent and admits that she didn’t get along with many of the sisters. So, when she decided that she wanted to enter the convent, she didn’t tell them. “When they found out, they did not give me their recommendation because I was too independent,” she recalls.

Even her mother wasn’t sure about her becoming a sister. “Is it the clothes you want?” her mother would ask, jokingly. She assured her mother that it was not the constrictive habit that the sisters wore in those days. In fact, she hesitated applying because of the clothing.

Finally, her pastor gave her the needed recommendation, and in 1962, at the age of 20, she entered the postulancy, the place where young women who consider becoming sisters have time to think and pray about their decisions.

Within two months, a typhoon hit Guam and Joelle had to make a decision. The typhoon had demolished the formation building where she and the other young women were training. Joelle would have to travel to the United States if she wanted to continue her studies. Two weeks later, she was in Mequon, Wisconsin. She was supposed to be in the United States for only two years.

Five years later, she returned to Guam as a Sister of Notre Dame and a teacher. In Guam, she taught junior high and high school for six years and became a liaison to students in Micronesia. She spent two summers as a missionary in Micronesia on the island of Yap, where people had never seen a sister before and had difficulty understanding what Sister Joelle did. They did know what the Peace Corps was, though, and Sister Joelle finally told them, “We are God’s Peace Corps.” She enjoyed the simplicity of life on the island and soon accepted an invitation to minister in Micronesia. Sister Joelle taught in the mission school, organized youth choirs and worked closely with the Peace Corps for youth activities.

She returned to Wisconsin for a year of teaching in an alternative school. But when a high school in Guam needed a geometry teacher, she went back, though not for long – returning to Wisconsin to be near family who had relocated to the United States. But Sister Joelle’s mother was living in Vancouver with one of Joelle’s sisters. When her mother’s health began to fail, Sister Joelle wanted to be closer to her.

In 1991, she came to Vancouver for the wedding of a close family friend. At the rehearsal, she asked Father Ken Haydock if there were any openings at the parish. The next day, he handed her a position description.

Since moving to Vancouver, Sister Joelle has been the Pastoral Assistant for Outreach at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Sister Joelle spends her time visiting the sick, the homebound elderly and the bereaved. She helps plan the liturgy and is present at almost every one of the five masses held at St. Joseph’s. She doesn’t take time off. She is always available. “Sister Joelle’s interest and enthusiasm for all that happens at St. Joseph are an inspiration to those work, worship and interact with her,” wrote her nominator.

Her influence also goes beyond Vancouver. She recently helped develop a special liturgy for Asian Pacific Islanders that was presented at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, located on the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is also active in Project Rachel, the post-abortion ministry of the Catholic Church.

Members of St. Joseph’s parish will tell you that Sister Joelle’s work never stops. Father Hans Olson calls her an extension of his pastoral ministry and rarely goes to a hospital or homebound visit without her “because she is such a consoling and caring presence.” But Sister Joelle doesn’t like to hear people say, “Oh we couldn’t do it without you,” or “What will happen to the parish when you’re gone?”

“To me my job is to empower people so that they can carry on and continue,” she explains. “This is not the end. I only pass through here once, and I want to make a difference. I’m doing my best and empowering people wherever I go.”

From her homeland in Guam to the Wisconsin heartland and Southwest Washington, Sister Joelle Aflague has proven to be a woman of achievement who, in her quiet and humble way, makes an enormous difference in the lives of individuals and our community as a whole.