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4 September

Blessed Dina Bélanger, RJM

I am letting you see the whole multitude of consecrated souls, to the end of time, so that you will understand how even one soul completely given over to me can radiate on all the other souls. You can see that, through it, my rays reach out into the distance, far into the distance, to the furthest end, meaning that I am doing good until the end of time.

Dina Bélanger was born on April 30, 1897, in Quebec City. The only child of Séraphia Matte and Olivier Bélanger, Dina has a happy childhood. She attends school at the convents of Saint-Roch, Jacques Cartier and Bellevue, run by the sisters of Congrégation Notre-Dame. Very young, the Holy Spirit inspires to her the desire of becoming a saint, enflamed by the love of God. She begins studying music when she is eight years old and accomplishes this passion by graduating from the Institute of Musical Art in New York. She attends this conservatory for two years living with the sisters of Jésus-Marie at Our Lady of Peace Residence. When she returns to Québec to live with her parents, she gives piano concerts for fund-raising and helps her mother as a volunteer at the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier.

However God’s call leads her to leave everything for the sake of Christ. She enters the convent of the sisters of Jésus-Marie, in Sillery, on August 11, 1921. She takes her vows on August 15, 1923, and receives the name of Marie Sainte-Cécile-de-Rome. She then moves to Saint-Michel (Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse) where she teaches music. Jesus substitutes himself more and more to Dina. On October 3, 1924, she receives permission to pronounce the most perfect of vows, that of total abandonment, the gift to Jesus of her will and her freedom at every moment.

On January 22, 1927, she receives the invisible stigmata of Christ. As she cares for a sick student, she catches tuberculosis and dies on September 4, 1929. She was 32 years old. The autobiography that she wrote in obedience to her superiors reveals her inner mystical life. After her death many favors were obtained through her intercession. She was beatified by John Paul II on March 20, 1993.

LINK: http://www.rjmgeneral.org/en/who-we-are/history-and-foundation/dina-belanger/