Sr Monique was a beacon of hope

By Dr Margaret Nakhid-Chatoor

psychologist/educator/ bereavement counsellor

mncpsych17@gmail.com

I first met Sr Monique Moniquette OP at Trinity Hall on the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, campus when I was 19 years old. I was playing my guitar while liming with friends. She was evangelising on the students’ halls that day and she approached me with a few gentle but probing questions; and then, in that warm yet authoritative voice, she said: “Next Sunday, bring your guitar and come to Holy Mass. You will be playing.” I dared not disobey!

That moment was the beginning of a profound friendship with Sr Monique, a woman whose presence shaped generations.

For more than 40 years, she served as Chaplain of UWI St Augustine. She was not only a spiritual leader but also one of the founders of the Catholic Students Movement (CSM), a community that gave young Catholics a home on campus.

Her work was not confined to liturgy as she became a mother figure to countless students, offering counsel, comfort, food, and sometimes the stern guidance we all needed. The chapel doors were always open, as was her deeply caring heart, and she welcomed us with the sign as we entered, “There are no strangers here. Only friends we have not met”.

Her voice carried warmth and authority, her presence radiated sincerity and love, and her witness to Jesus changed lives. In later years, her influence extended far beyond the chapel walls. She spoke at my wedding, blessing my marriage with the same conviction she brought to every Mass, and when my children later became students at UWI, she was there for them too—a constant presence, and a reminder that faith and compassion could anchor them through the turbulence of youth and academia.

When they learned of her death, those here and abroad, my children spoke of her in glowing terms, such as I had not heard them before. I was pleasantly surprised that they remembered so much.

A witness to Jesus

Sr Monique’s gift was not only her leadership but her humanity. She had a way of seeing the person behind the student, the soul behind the struggle. Many who passed through UWI remember her as the one who listened when no one else did, who prayed with them when they felt lost, who reminded them of their worth when they doubted themselves.

Deborah Bushell, a St Lucian who had studied engineering, and current Director of the Youth Cathedral choir and Youth Encountering Christ groups in SLU, had this to say: “Most of my formative years were shaped by Religious sisters and I wasn’t particularly religious. Yet when I met Sr Monique, I realised that nuns could be relatable, approachable and so very real. She recognised God’s giftedness in me in ways I never imagined and what I received from her was warmth and a gentle nudge forward as she knew my shyness.

What stands out most was her prophetic encouragement: ‘Debbie, when you go back home, you’re going to work with the young people in St Lucia’. My internal response was, ‘Me? Youth? Sister must be crazy!’ That moment marked the beginning of a lifetime of youth involvement in the Church”.

At her funeral Mass on May 13, Fr Ferdinand Warner OP offered words that captured her essence: “God is doing for her what she has done for so many persons.” He reminded us that Sr Monique’s witness to Jesus was life-changing. She was Love. She was Welcome. She was Sincerity and Openness.

She accompanied others in learning to love God, and she served the Church with unwavering devotion. Now, as Fr Ferdie said, she is at home in her Father’s house—words which brought such comfort to me that day at the Holy Name Chapel.

In her later years, Alzheimer’s disease dimmed her memory. She no longer recognised the faces of those she had nurtured, nor remembered the profound impact she had made. For many of us, the grieving began then—watching a woman who had called me ‘Margaret darling’ and could not now remember me, who had given so much to others, lose the very memories of her giving. Yet even in that silence, her legacy spoke louder than words.

As we remember Sr Monique, we honour not only her decades of service but the countless unseen acts of kindness that defined her ministry. She was more than a chaplain, more than a founder, more than a leader. She was a mother, a mentor, and a friend.

And though she may have forgotten us in her final years, we will never forget her. She was truly a beacon of hope.

Her voice still echoes in my memory: “Bring your guitar and come to Holy Mass”—not just an invitation to play music but a call to faith, to community, to a life lived with purpose. That call continues today, carried forward by all of us who were blessed to know her.

Her journey has ended where it began: in the embrace of her loving God. And so, we remember her not in sorrow, but in gratitude—for Sr Monique is now truly at home, in her Father’s house, and her light continues to shine through the lives she touched.

May she rest in God’s eternal peace. Amen.