This year, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the canonisation of Saint Benedict Menni, Sister Émilie Baïkoula Panzou shares with us how the figure of our founder has been for her a constant source of inspiration and strength in her hospitaller vocation. ‘In Saint Benedict Menni, I find the strength to move forward in my hospital vocation,’ says Sister Émilie. She describes him as a man of great generosity, with a profound capacity to listen to the voice of God and the needs of those who suffer.
For Sr Émilie, St Benedict Menni was noted for his ‘compassionate gaze,’ a virtue that enabled him to discover the needs of others even before they were expressed. ‘Generosity and compassion are virtues of his that I am deeply passionate about,’ she says. He was a ‘man without borders’ who went to the peripheries to care for the most vulnerable: victims of war, the sick and the marginalised. During his life, he crossed borders and took his mission to Spain, France, Italy and Latin America, always in search of those most in need of help.
On 11 November 1999, when Saint Benedict Menni was canonised, Sister Émilie had just consecrated herself to the Lord in her religious profession. She remembers that date as a day of immense joy: ‘We felt immense joy because the Lord was close to us, despite our frailties. But our joy was even greater when we learned that our founder was a saint’. His canonisation was a confirmation of his total dedication to God and to humanity, and a reminder that holiness is possible for those who maintain faith and perseverance despite difficulties.