The Feast of St. Madeleine Sophie 2022 amid the Pandemic in Sapporo

  • Preparing for the UN Study Tour at  Sapporo Sacred Heart
    Preparing for the UN Study Tour at Sapporo Sacred Heart
  • Japan Sapporo Sacred Heart - Happy Feast via Google Meet
    Japan Sapporo Sacred Heart - Happy Feast via Google Meet
  • Sheila Smith RSCJ
    Sheila Smith RSCJ
  • Students at Sapporo Sacred Heart
    Students at Sapporo Sacred Heart
  • Close-up of young Sophie doll
    Close-up of young Sophie doll
  • Young Sophie doll next to portrait of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat
    Young Sophie doll next to portrait of Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat

On May 25, 2022, approximately 140 students and 30 faculty members at the Sapporo Sacred Heart School in Japan celebrated a “Happy Feast” online, connecting each classroom using Google meet.

No school is immune to this pandemic crisis.  We are struggling to adjust ourselves to the “new normal”. On May 25th, we celebrated a “Happy Feast” online, connecting each classroom using Google Meet.

We had a special program in the morning. The program included a PowerPoint presentation about St. Madeleine Sophie, a presentation about the UN online study tour in February 2022, and a briefing by an alumna who works for an NGO named PLAS (Positive Living through AIDS orphan Support). She graduated from Sapporo Sacred Heart School and continued her studies abroad. After obtaining a master’s degree at the University of Sussex, she started her career at PLAS, dividing her time between their Japanese office and their offices in Uganda and Kenya. She was kind enough to share her experiences with us.

The highlight of the entire program was the presentation about the UN online study tour by the high school students. Although they were not able to go to New York in person, we were able to provide them with opportunities to meet people working for the UN or other organizations face-to-face online, thanks to the help and support of Sheila Smith RSCJ, the representative of “UN-NGO RSCJ at the UN”, together with Rita Pinto RSCJ, Lynne Lieux RSCJ,  and other lecturers from the UN.  This experience is sure to have a significant impact on their lives.

On this day, the school offered both students and faculty members “Ukraine support curry and rice”. We thanked God for our meals every day and enjoyed this special curry. We kept a safe distance from each other and ate silently, thinking deeply about the refugees from Ukraine and praying for peace. We also collected money for Ukraine. The donated money will go to the Ukraine emergency fund established by the General Council of the Society of the Sacred Heart. We all hope our monetary support will help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Hungary, where Sacred Heart sisters are dedicating themselves to volunteer work.

Students prepared for this day by folding paper cranes identical to the Ukrainian flag’s blue and yellow colors as tokens of prayer. They were impressed to know that for 100 years there was a Sacred Heart school in Lviv (now in Ukraine), starting in the time of St. Madeleine Sophie.

 An alumna made a doll called “Young Sophie” to commemorate the prayers and learning of our Holy Mother in her youth, to communicate a message for us to cherish the days of prayer and learning for peace.

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