“Get the Bourauel girls,” the townsfolk would say. The town was Bruno, Saskatchewan, and the girls were the six daughters of Susan and Peter Bourauel who, as a matter of course, were called upon to lend their musical talents whenever the town had something to observe or celebrate.

The Bourauel family was very musical. The girls’ mother was a violinist and their father a fine singer, as well as a bass horn player. The girls all played instruments and sang. Young Laura’s flair (S. Susan) was piano, and music was to accompany her joyfully all her life.

After completing her primary and secondary education with the Ursuline Sisters in Bruno, Laura attended a year of business college. But the influence of all these years with the Sisters had touched her heart. She wanted to be a Sister.

Laura did not feel drawn, however to join the order of the Ursulines. Rather, after visiting an uncle in Minneapolis who told her that a new community was forming nearby (St. Paul’s Priory began in 1948), Laura called at the modest Benedictine house on Summit Avenue and reports she “liked it right away.” She became a postulant in 1952 and continued to study piano at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.

After her profession of vows in 1954, S. Susan taught music in grades K-8, including band, organ, piano, choir, and church music. During these years, she worked on her master’s degree in education at the College of St. Thomas.

After 31 years in education, S. Susan felt it was time for a change, so she answered a call to serve as community secretary (a two-year experience that prepared her for a further call: this time, from then-Federation president S. Colleen Haggerty, who was looking for someone to serve as secretary/treasurer.

S. Susan was selected for the job. At first, she commuted from St. Paul to St. Joseph, juggling two jobs at the two communities. But in 1992, she moved to St. Joseph where she continued to live until the end of her term in 1997 when she became the development director at St. Paul’s Monastery.

Today, S. Susan is the Monastery’s archivist. This means that she saves and chronicles the history of the Monastery and its Sisters. It is in the archives that you will easily find the history of the Sisters, including many pictures of Sister Susan and her big family singing and playing music many years ago in Bruno and other places throughout the years. With precision and care, she tends to the living history that is in her hands for St. Paul’s Monastery, creating a special symphony of memories for all to see for years to come.

S. Susan loves watching sports, especially hockey and baseball. You’ll often find her huddled over puzzles matching pieces in the quiet of the Healthcare Center’s common room. And, hopefully at least once a year Sister will make pilgrimage to one of her favorite shops in Jordan: Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store!

Celebrating 70 years of consecrated life is a big deal and these seven decades of ministry for S. Susan are filled with memories, music, and living deeply monastic values and practices. We may sit and marvel at this life of love that our S. Susan lives but, as our S. Susan would say: “That’s how it goes!” 

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Content provided from a 1995 article by S. Owen Lindblad OSB, a 2022 Sisters’ Words of Wisdom web article, and recent conversations with S. Susan.