General Superior Sr. Kathryn LaFleur receives the Distinguished Service Award from Rev. Anne MacDermaid, Chair of the Board of Management, Queen’s Theological College.
General Superior Sr. Kathryn LaFleur received the 2006 Distinguished Service Award from Queen’s Theological College. During the October 16th presentation, the following citation was read by Rev. Anne MacDermaid.
A woman who exemplifies “faith in action,” Sr. Kathryn LaFleur has been an inspired spiritual director, a wise mentor, and a voice of deep experience, insight and common sense, to more than a generation of elementary, high school and post secondary students, to the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, where she is General Superior and to the students, faculty and staff at Queen’s Theological College, to name but a few places and people whose lives she has touched.
As the spiritual and apostolic leader of her order, Sr. Kathryn has led by examples of life-long learning and living out those learnings in her daily life. Beginning her career as a teacher with the York County Roman Catholic Separate School Board, Sr. Kathryn concentrated on English and Religious Studies, receiving both her M. Ed. and her Permanent Principal’s Certificate in 1979. She became a specialist in Religious Education and Guidance in 1987, and thereafter, acquired a Bachelor of Sacred Theology, a Masters of Theology, a Licence in Sacred Theology, and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology, all at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, in Rome, Italy.
Those stellar academic accomplishments do not speak to the qualities of humour, charity, and compassion which radiate from Sr. Kathryn. Queen’s Theological College has indeed been blessed by her presence as a guest lecturer and professor who has taught our theological and religious studies students courses in spirituality, canon law, Christian spiritual life, church history, and Roman Catholic doctrine. Sr. Kathryn has also been available as a spiritual advisor to our students, and her insights have helped to shape their faith and their lives. It is a privilege for the Board of Management to be able to acknowledge Sr. Kathryn’s contributions through presenting her with the 2006 Distinguished Service Award. May God continue to bless her inspiring and courageous journey.