M. LUCIA – BERNICE BOUCHÉ
Bernice Bouche was born on September 14, 1935, in Rangoon – Burma (now Myanmar), into a Catholic family. She was baptized at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Rangoon, capital of Burma, on September 23, 1935.
Bernice’s story recalls the biblical crossing of the desert and the Red Sea by the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians. The ongoing refugee crisis with its atrocities in several nations tells us that every war is a crime. Millions are forced to flee in the night and seek refuge in other nations, starting life from scratch after losing their families and homes. Bernice was also a refugee. However, if she had continued to live in Burma, perhaps she would never have become a religious sister. It’s God’s miracle that she was to land safely in India and become India’s first Sister Disciple of the Divine Master.
At the age of eight, during the Second World War, Bernice, with many others, was forced to flee from Burma to India with her brother and mother. Her father, originally from an ancient French family, was away on military service and was not present with the family. This is how the sufferings of Bernice began. She, along with her mother and brother, left their home to reach the nearest airport. Sadly, it had been bombed. After a day on the train, they continued on foot because the railway tracks were destroyed. The little money they had carried was already finished. They had no change of clothing since they were unable to carry much with them. On the deserted route, no food or water was available. The only possibility was to eat some roots and fruits found in the forest.
After having walked for hours, her exhausted and dehydrated Mother was unable to endure the journey any longer. She told them, “The two of you go ahead that the Lord might send someone to help you. I cannot go on; I will remain here to die.” In a hut nearby, she bowed her head and breathed her last while her children watched her. In the meantime, two warrior men from the deadly forest tribe took them and placed them in two separate huts. They were barbaric head-hunters. It seems, that her brother was killed in that manner. Bernice remained with this horrific tribe, expecting to die at any moment. However, through God’s loving care, she was helped by some good Englishmen who arrived there. Knowing the customs of these forest warriors, they realised the trauma that the little girl would face. Hence, they brought her to India. Here, Bernice recalled the words from the Bible, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands, they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone (Ps 91:11-12). By a miracle of God, she survived.
Upon her arrival in India, Bernice was placed under the care of the Canossian Sisters in Allahabad. She lived with them for 12 years. Having gone through immense trauma, upon waking up each morning her prayer would be “My God, My rock, in you I take refuge,” (Ps 18:2). Thus, she placed all her trust in the Lord.
In India, the first church she visited was run by the Pauline priests in Allahabad. This encounter was engraved on her soul. She met Fr. Alfonso Ferrero, an Italian Pauline Priest, one of the pioneer missionaries in India. He often visited the boarding school of the Canossian Sisters. As the psalmist says, “Like the deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? (Ps 42: 1-2). Bernice was naturally drawn to the Pauline church and in the evenings would take a walk there. Whenever Bernice met Rev Fr. Ferrero, he would speak to her about the Pauline vocation of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master. These meetings stirred her heart. Realizing that prayer is very essential for evangelization, she thought to herself, “Why can’t I dedicate myself to the apostolate of prayer and reach out to the whole world?” As she kept clarifying all her doubts with Rev. Fr. Alfonso, the Lord was weaving his own design for her life.
Two years later in 1954, two Sister Disciples from Italy, Rev Sr. M. Dorotea and Rev. Sr. M. Joseph Capra arrived in India. On meeting them for the first time, Bernice was deeply impressed by their example of prayer, joy, simplicity, sacrifice and hard work. She recalled the words of the scripture, “The Lord set his heart on you and chose you” (Deut 7:7). So, with deep conviction that this apostolate of prayer could help the priests and religious in their mission, she entered the Congregation of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master on January 23rd 1955. She was the first Indian girl to join the Sister Disciples. The difficulties in the initial stages of adjusting to the life in the congregation did not affect her decision. She was convinced that God had a purpose for her life.
In August of 1956, Bernice was sent to Italy for her novitiate, and she made her first religious profession in Rome on March 25, 1958. She was given the name of “Lucia” which means light. On her return to India in 1960, she pioneered the opening of a new Foundation in Bombay, today Mumbai (India). It was set up in 1962. On March 25, 1963, she reaffirmed her ‘Yes’ to the Lord through her perpetual profession in Mumbai. The apostolic service for which she was qualified, where she offered her best, was primarily that of a simple cook. She fulfilled this service with generosity and humility. In 1975, Sr. M Lucia Bouché returned to Rome and offered her collaboration in the Centre for Souvenirs at Saint Peter’s Basilica and then later, once again as a cook, as long as her health permitted.
The life of Sr. M. Lucia Bouché is characterized by the language of gratitude, in total awareness, that the Lord had done great things for her. She expressed this point repeatedly, almost as a summary of her life, when she celebrated her 60th Anniversary of religious consecration. In her own words, she said, “My heart is filled with wonder and emotion for the powerful experience of love and family delicacy, given to me by God the Father and by the Congregation. I truly tasted the beauty of our wonderful family, in every gift I received. I would like to raise a song of thanksgiving and praise; I will sing of you with my life, Lord, and I will give you thanks. With the Psalmist, I make this hymn my own” (June 29, 2018).
Sr. M. Lucia Bouché, living up to her name, continued to radiate the light of God and lived her religious vocation with great faith and trust in her Divine Master. Her life was of total self-offering and renunciation in the service of evangelization through prayer. Already suffering for many years from the heart and metabolic issues, in the silence of the night, she reached her goal 17 november 2021; the homeland of heaven where she could finally be reunited with her loved ones in the eternal adoration of the Divine Master.