SISTER PAUL  CLOETE  CELEBRATES  50  YEARS  AS  A  CABRA  DOMINICAN  SISTER  AND  RECALLS  TREASURED  MEMORIES  OF  HER  MOTHER,  FAMILY  AND  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

To mark the occasion she agreed to give an interview about her life to Sr Renée Rossouw. 
The following are some extracts from the interview:

Sister Paul, how long have you known Dominicans?  Since childhood?

Oh, yes, there were 10 children in my family.  I was born in 1935  in Matjieskloof, in  the Northern Cape, South Africa, but  when I was about five years of age the family moved to Wittebome in Cape Town, so that my mother could take care of my Grandfather.  My own father was looking for work because the mines in the Northern Cape were closing.  I went to school in St. Augustine’s, Wittebome. 

When my grandfather died we moved to Elsies River, near Cape Town, and later we moved to Matroosfontein where I went to Holy Trinity, a Dominican School until I was fourteen years of age.   While there, I got to know the Dominican Sisters.   Mother Columcille visited the family and soon elicited myself to accompany her on her Saturday afternoon visits in the area.  As we walked Sister Columcille - dressed in the traditional habit and Rosary beads - prayed and I joined her.

And what influenced you to make the decision to enter the convent?

While my mother did not encourage me openly to join the sisters, she often spoke about the sisters she had known in an orphanage where she had lived for a time when she was young.

I learnt from the example of my mother about the Faith and moral values.  I attended Holy Trinity school until Grade 8 and belonged to the Children of Mary Sodality.   I was drawn to the Dominican sisters and spoke to Mother Catherine Dixon who was the Spiritual Director of the Children of Mary Sodality and expressed a wish to enter the Convent.   Mother Catherine told me to pray about it.  

Because of family circumstances I could not enter the convent immediately; I worked in a knitting factory for some years until the time was suitable to leave the family.

In fact, I remember that when I left my job in December in 1953 the bonus due to me was withheld because they were disappointed about the idea of losing me!  However, my mother assured me that I was doing the right thing and that God would reward me for following the call.  As time passed, my siblings married and went back to Namaqualand and my mother followed them there later. (My father had died some years before). I was now the only person from my family living in Cape Town.

Did you see your family often after that time?

I went home for a holiday 15 years later!   Up until that time the Sisters never went back home after joining the convent. Of course, I was able to meet family members when they came to visit me in the convent.

After both my parents and siblings died my aunt and extended family continued to invite me for holidays.  Many of them attended my Golden Jubilee Celebration on the 20 January 2007.   Holy Mass was celebrated in the Parish of Corpus Christi in Wynberg.

During Mass - explaining the Vows to the people

Sr Paul, Maude and Mavis (a relative of Sr Paul's)

   Archbishop Lawrence Henry was the main celebrant and many of my Dominican Sisters, work colleagues and friends joined me in this celebration.  After the Mass the celebration continued in the school hall of the Dominican School for Deaf Children where all enjoyed refreshments, eats and conversation.

What memories stand out for you as highlights of those years?

One of the highlights of my life in the Convent was my experience of living with different cultures.    The Irish culture is close to the Coloured culture and so it was not difficult for me. The experience of Religious Life gave me the opportunity of spending more time with God.
Another highlight in my ministry of teaching was in Kirkwood where I lived for 20 years.  Besides teaching I also went to Out-stations for Mass on Sundays, where I met many people and children.   I felt that that was a very ‘missionary’ type of ministry.
After school and at weekends I also did supervision in the boarding school.
I taught in St. Reginald’s, Kirkwood  for 10 years.  I loved the people because they were simple and lovely. The Convent in Kirkwood closed and after a year the people asked for the Sisters to come back.  Sisters Paul, Carmel Ford and Eileen Acton went every Tuesday  from Uitenhage to teach Catechism to the children and adults.

“Is entering the Convent something a woman can think of doing these days?”  

Sr Paul says: “Times have changed and many Catholics do not have the opportunity of going to Catholic Schools.   If someone came to me and said that she would like to enter the Convent I would encourage her to pray about it and say to the woman, 
‘COME AND  SEE
COME AND TRY.’
Young people have far more opportunities these days and so they should go and study first after Matriculation.”
The lack of vocations is a cause of concern, but I believe we must not give up, but encourage young women to pursue the life if they are being called.

The Archbishop with Sr Paul and People after the Jubilee Mass