14 January is a highly evocative date for the entire Thouret family: on this occasion,
two sisters celebrated sixty years of religious life:
Sr. Anne Marguerite and Sr. Jeanne Vincent,
and two sisters pronounced their vows for life
Sr. Choly and Sr. Nouansy.
in the Year of the Bicentenary of Saint Jeanne Antide.
14 January unleashes the power of the charism given to Mother Thouret, which the Church proclaimed in its fullness of evangelical life with her canonisation on 14 January 1934.
On that same day, four Sisters of Charity arrived in Laos, in Thakhet, a small town, the capital of the province of Khammouane.
The charism is a spark of the Holy Spirit thrown into the furrows of history, as Mother Luisa Colombo reminded us: Jeanne Antide and her first companions in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the first European sisters in Laos while Europe was oppressed by dictatorships, today Sister Anne Marguerite and Sister Jeanne Vincent, with their precious wealth of years, and Sister Choly and Sister Nouansy with the enthusiasm of their youth, in our international scenario that needs peace, justice, reconciliation among peoples, that needs God.
This is how the sisters of the Southeast Asia Province testify to us today, 14 January 2026:
“For us, the celebration of the Bicentennial is a reminder of the example set by our Foundress, Jeanne Antide Thouret. Throughout her life, she was a tireless servant, guided by a sincere love for the marginalised, the powerless and the forgotten. She sought to reveal the face of the Father to those who were small, weak, poor and abandoned.
Following the example of the Foundress’s life, Sr. Anne Marguerite Maitry and Sr. Jeanne Vincent Phoukham were inspired to remain faithful and courageous in their commitment to service and ministry.
In the same spirit, Sr. Joli and Sr. Manokoun Choly Anna and Sr. Xayyaphet Nouansy Teresa today, with great enthusiasm, pronounce their definitive ‘yes’ forever to God, whom they serve in their brothers and sisters.
