Sister Beatrice Bonin: 73 Years of Religious Life

Our Church celebrated the 70th anniversary of priesthood for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. We not only prayed for him, but we also gave thanks to the Lord for his wonderful service to the Church. His celebration did indeed make headlines last month. Meanwhile, many are those holy men and women who consecrated their lives to the service of the Church behind the cameras and remain unknown in the media. Sister Beatrice Bonin – Religious of Jesus and Mary – was among them.

Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in 1926, Beatrice Bonin entered the congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in 1945 and returned to God on June 22, 2021. She was a well-loved educator of pre-school and elementary school children in Goffstown, New Hampshire, for 45 years. Fellow Sisters, Sr. Diane and Sr. Michele described Sr. Beatrice in the eulogy as a lady of love of God and love of her fellow humans. She served as supervisor and mother of the girls boarding at the school five days a week. She used to take the girls out for recreation after school and helped them with their studies. She baked cookies, ate with them, and helped them get ready for bed. They were never bored. Indeed, the children loved Sister Beatrice, says Sr. Diane.

When the boarding school closed, Sr. Beatrice was devastated. She worked hard for “her girls”. Then she was assigned as a teacher in the kindergarten class. She was the first pre-K teacher when pre-K classes were initiated. In her retirement, Sr. Beatrice was a very kind and gentle community member who delighted in observing children and animals. Fr. Joe and I were blessed to minister to her in their retreat convent in Plainville before they closed it. Even with her health issue, Sr. Beatrice remained a lady of deep faith and trust in God. She loved her religious habit and never lost her smile. In 73 years of Religious Life, Sr. Beatrice impacted the lives of many people she ministered to. She succeeded in practicing the words of Jesus: “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Mt 19: 14).

The life and ministry of Sr. Beatrice continues to plead for help to reverse the trend of the decline of religious life like those species facing extinction today. Many convents are closed by lack of vocations. A friend told me he wanted to be a priest. I accompanied him for a while to discern his vocation. The last time we met, he changed his mind because his mother said she wants grandchildren even though he is not her only son. If we do not stimulate vocations within our families, the future of our Church will stay in danger. Priests and nuns will not fall like manna from heaven. They should come from our families instead. We are all invited, through prayers and other activities, “to foster an atmosphere in which (...) Catholics are open to a personal invitation to discern accurately and embrace freely the form of permanent commitment in the Church to which they are being called.” (Third Continental Congress on Vocations in North America 2002, p. 62). May our Mother Mary, “the human being who has responded better than any other to God's call” (John Paul II, Pastores dabo vobis, n. 82), intercede for more vocations in the Church, especially in our Archdiocese of Boston.

Thank you, Sr. Beatrice, for the gift of your life in service to God’s people. May your soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Fr. Lambert Nieme