Sister M.B. Dufour, 82, active in ministry

Sister Marie Bénédicte Dufour, 82, of Lansdale, an educator who was active in parish ministry, died of a stroke Sunday, Nov. 13, at Abington Health Lansdale Hospital.

A member of the Religious of the Assumption and a native of Janville, France, Sister Béné, as she was known, came to the United States in 1983.

After attending a summer program for English teachers, she asked her religious order if she could stay for a year, which somehow stretched to almost 30, said a longtime friend, Sister Nuala Cotter.

Initially, Sister Marie Bénédicte lived in West Philadelphia and taught French at the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur in Radnor. In the summer, she assisted with the parish census at St. Stanislaus Church in Lansdale. The project led to many more, and by the mid-1980s, she was a member of the parish staff.

She participated in the annual parish visitation, was active in the "Landings" program to welcome back estranged Catholics, visited the sick, and led the parish bereavement ministry.

"She had wonderful people skills," Sister Nuala said.

Sister Marie Bénédicte helped families choose readings and music for funerals and explained the liturgy to them, said Msgr. Joseph Tracy, pastor at St. Stanislaus. She would keep in touch with parishioners who had lost loved ones, he said.

She also taught English to French-speaking parishioners from West Africa, Tracy said.

She was a member of the Justice and Peace Coalition of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

After retiring from parish ministry in June 2010, she helped care for the elderly nuns living in her order's convent in Lansdale.

Sister Marie Bénédicte was 10 when the Germans invaded France. During the occupation, German soldiers were quartered in her home. When asked later about her feelings toward them, she said, "They had families, too," Sister Nuala recalled.

Sister Marie Bénédicte entered the religious order of Les Gardiennes Adoratrices in Orleans, France, in 1951. The order became part of the Religious of the Assumption in 1968. She taught secondary school students in France before coming to the United States.

"Sister Béné's enthusiasm for her adopted country was remarkable. She knew more about the history of the nation and the Delaware Valley than many who had been born here," Sister Nuala said.

In December 2010, Sister Marie Bénédicte fulfilled a lifelong dream by visiting the Grand Canyon. Every three years, she returned to France to visit her siblings and their families.

She is survived by a brother, Alain; sisters Nicole Percheron and Francine Coene; and nieces and nephews.

Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Simcox-McIlvaine Funeral Home, 532 E. Main St., Lansdale, and from 9 a.m., followed by a Funeral Mass at 10, Wednesday, Nov. 16, at St. Stanislaus Church, 51 Lansdale Ave. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken.

Donations may be made to St. Marie Eugenie Secondary School in Tanzania, c/o Religious Sisters of the Assumption, 506 Crestview Rd., Lansdale, Pa. 19446.