Sisters of Saint Joseph of Annecy

The eldest of six children, Monique Marclay was born in Monthey on March 9, 1931. She lived a happy youth in the midst of her family, who were dear to her and whom she helped as best she could as the eldest.

Desiring to respond to God's call to religious life, Monique entered the Convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Annecy on September 8, 1948 and received, a year later, the beautiful name of her dear parents: Paul and Andrée.

After her first vows in 1950, she was sent to the Pensionnat des Tilleuls in Annecy (is this a hidden connection between the beginning of her religious life and the end of her life at the Tilleuls in Monthey?). In 1953, to the School of Nursing in Sion.

Her training allowed her to exercise her natural aptitude for nursing in the hospitals of Monthey, and St Julien and Evian in France, at various stages of her life. In addition, she had the good fortune to pursue specific executive studies in Paris, from 1964 to 1966, in the Cognac-Gey maternity hospital run by our Sisters. She returned a few years later.

In 1972, she returned to her native country, where she deployed her professional gifts in the service of young people at the School of Nursing in Sion, then at the St. Joseph Boarding School in Monthey. The students looked forward to the good times when they could meet her in the library. She knew how to interest them and even more, how to reach them through their questions.

Her somewhat eventful career also led her to "Bon Rivage", a guest house at La Tour de Peilz, where her presence and services were appreciated by both the residents and the Sisters of the Community.

Her life was marked by many trials and tribulations: the deaths of her parents, her sister Georgette, and her brother Jean-Paul, as well as health problems and a depressive tendency that sometimes made her feel gloomy. She said herself: "Life has taught me that there are limits and that one must accept them with serenity".

This is how she gradually moved closer to her native town, passing through the community of Aigle, then Monthey, peacefully completing her last days at the Home des Tilleuls.

Sociable and cheerful by nature, Sister Paul-Andrée had a "heart in her hand", she was always ready to help, attentive to the needs of others. Her great sensitivity made her close to everyone: "Friends, for me”, she said, “are a beautiful gift from heaven. I help them, no matter what they do, and they repay me well.”

Sister Paul-Andrée gave her whole life to God, in whom she had great Faith. "When a Sister makes her vows, they say, she is the bride of Christ, she gives everything to Him. I give everything to Jesus.

She was often found in the Chapel, lost in prayer. "What is most important for me and what helps me to live is prayer," she said.

Now she has joined her God and those who preceded her in the light and peace of another life.     Blessed be God!