In November 2021, our community in Shizuoka, founded 119 years ago in this city located about 180 kms south of Tokyo, was closed after a thanksgiving mass prepared by the teachers and staff of Shizuoka Futaba School.
The story began in 1902, when Father Ray, M.E.P., asked Mother Mathilde to open a school in one of the parishes of Shizuoka. Without hesitation, she responded to this call and arrived in Shizuoka the following year, accompanied by three other sisters. In almost 120 years of presence in Shizuoka, many sisters have dedicated themselves to the education of young people, despite very difficult times: the great Kanto earthquake in 1923 and the Second World War! Although the world has changed, their passion for their mission of education has remained intact.
Our former students, now graduates, whether Christian or not, give testimony to the sisters who taught them to live with gratitude by giving joy to those around them; they tell us how much they felt loved by each of them.
We are certain that the closure of our community is an opening towards a new future and new possibilities, which the new generations will know how to implement. This is our hope and our joy.
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