Just Received

A kind soul put me on the mailing list of the Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation at Le Barroux, where one of my friends, the Wills, entered holy religion a few months back, in presence of her immediate family and of the peripatetic Fr Rowe; just now I've received the good sisters' communication concerning this:

24 janvier : ... notre postulante australienne reçoit l'habit bénédictin et son nouveau nom : sœur Mechtilde. Pour la famille et les amis venus de l'autre côté de la terre, Père Basile prononce un sermon en anglais...

(24th January: ... our Australian postulant receives the Benedictine habit and her new name: Sister Mechtilde. For family and friends from the other side of the world, Father Basil delivers a sermon in English ...)

And the monastic chronicle noted a later comic moment: when the question was raised: « Qui célèbre la messe ? », sister heard it as « Qui est la Mère abbesse ? » - and replied innocently, « Mère Placide Devillers. » Consternation all round!