Dina Bélanger

Blessed Dina Bélanger (April 30, 1897 - September 4, 1929) was a Canadian nun, musician and Christian mystic.

Biography

Bélanger was born in Quebec, in the parish of Saint-Roch, Quebec City. She was later sent to study music in New York City. She performed in public concerts between 1918 and 1921, for the benefit of charity.^[1][2]

She entered the religious congregation of Congrégation des Religieuses de Jésus-Marie in Sillery, Quebec City in 1921, where she took the name of Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome, and made her monastic vows in August 1923.^[1] During her first mission in Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse where she taught piano, she contracted scarlet fever after treating a student. The fever quickly degenerated into tuberculosis.^[2] She later wrote that the illness allowed her to further deepen her mystical union with Jesus Christ. According to Pope John Paul II, "She had musical gifts that no doubt prepared her for the acceptance of the divine presence and for praise that transcends words."^[2]

On 20 March 1993, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Camille Roy wrote her biography in 1934. The 4th of September was later dedicated to the Feast of the Blessed Dina Belanger. The Salle Dina-Bélanger, the Quebec Music Festival Dina Bélanger and the Collège Dina Bélanger in Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse^[3] are named in her honor. A musical based on her life was presented as part of the 400th anniversary of Quebec City and the 49th International Eucharistic Congress held there in June 2008. The production was created by singer-songwriter Martin Louis Lanthier and the staging was performed by Bruno Marquis.

Quote

Notre Seigneur, Homme-Dieu, me fit voir son Cœur adorable, dans l’Hostie sainte. Son Cœur et l’Hostie étaient parfaitement unis, tellement l’un dans l’autre que je ne puis pas expliquer comment il m’était possible de les distinguer l’un de l’autre. De l’Hostie émanait une immensité de rayons de lumière. De son Cœur jaillissait une immensité de flammes, lesquelles s’échappaient comme en torrents pressés. La très sainte Vierge était là, si près de Notre Seigneur qu’elle était comme absorbée par Lui, et pourtant, je la voyais distinctement de Lui… Toutes les lumières de l’Hostie et toutes les flammes du Cœur de Jésus passaient par le Cœur immaculé de la très sainte Vierge.^[4]

References

1. 1 2 "Bl. Dina Belanger". Catholic Online. Retrieved 2013-09-16. 
2. 1 2 3 "Bélanger, Dina". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2013-09-16. 
3. ↑ "Historique" (in French). Collège Dina Bélanger, Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse. Retrieved 2013-09-14. 
4. ↑ Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome (Dina Bélanger), religieuse de Jésus-Marie (1897-1929) : autobiography and testimony/text published and annotated by Dom Léonce Crenier; preface by Mgr Camille Roy. Author: Marie St. Cecilia of Rome, sister, RJM Publisher: Convent of Jesus and Mary, Sillery (1934) (Québec] : L'Action catholique.