Sister Anne Marie Thi Lan DO
Sister Anne Marie Thi Lan was born of Thi Diem DO and Van Trong DO, in Vietnam. She did her postulancy, novitiate, made first vows and perpetual vows in Vietnam. Her religious name is Anne Marie. Her first name is Thi Lan. Thi means girl and Lan means orchid.
She was responsible for the community and the young sisters in Thu Duc, Dalat and Suoi Da in Vietnam. She attended religious formation courses in Ireland in 1998 and the Philippines in 1999. Sister Anne Marie was missioned to France, Toulon in 2003 to take over from Sister Marie Pierre Hoang as chaplain to the Vietnamese community. She obtained her French nationality in 2012. Sister Anne Marie was community animator in 2016-2024, in Toulon.
As her Vietnamese first name is Thi Lan, Sister Anne Maire was very fond of orchids and took good care of her orchids in the community. She had a beautiful voice. Her beautiful voice praised the Lord through community prayer and the parish mass. Now her voice praises the Lord unceasingly, face to face. She was very faithful to her vocation, to personal prayer. She loved her vocation to RNDM, the Trinitarian and Marian charism and spirituality, and the inculturation of the Congregation. Her brother said that Sister Anne Marie left home to enter to the convent, without telling her family or her brother. She had a great devotion to the Virgin Mary. Every morning, she lit a candle before the Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary very faithfully.
She had a big heart for the Vietnamese community. She was very faithful in meeting Sister Regina every time she came to Toulon, to talk to her about her concerns for the Vietnamese community, who was going to take over from her, the preparation of the mass of TET ( Vietnameses new year), etc. The community saw her very often on the phone. Even during meals, she would pick up the phone and keep talking. She said that many people confided their worries to her, asking her for prayer and advice.
She liked to invite priests, the bishop and seminarians to the community to get to know them, to maintain a good relationship with them and to pray for them. She was delighted to welcome Vietnamese families during the summer holidays.
She had health problems. Since 2023, she had undergone blood dialysis three times a week. She was very brave to face up to this heavy treatment. Despite this heavy treatment, she wanted to organise the New Year’s mass. Even though she was very tired, there was no question of her not organising this TET mass. She fulfilled her mission to the Vietnamese community with zeal as she spoke very highly of her zeal for the mission. She was very faithful to her mission until her last breath; it was a mission that was close to her heart. After the TET (New Year) celebration, she was very tired and hospitalised on 11th February. She went to the Lord very quickly on 18th February in hospital. During her stay in hospital, she was able to receive holy Communion every morning from a lady who lived in Hyères.
The bishop of Toulon, Mgr REY, celebrated her funeral in the presence of the parish priest, of many priests, of Vietnamese families, of school’s principals, teachers and staff from our school, on 24 February in the parish of the Immaculate Conception, Toulon. Her blood sister, brother and sister-in-law, nephew (a priest) and niece came to Toulon from the United States for her funeral.
We sisters of the province say, rest well dear sister Anne Marie in peace in the Lord in the midst of millions of orchids, praise the Lord with your beautiful voice without ceasing and pray for us. Thank you for your beautiful testimony of faith as a Religious of Notre Dame des Missions, to the Vietnamese families in Toulon, to the parish, to the community, to the province and to the Congregation.