Fonds F18 - Sue Mosteller fonds

Sister Sue Mosteller, CSJ, OC, was born in Ohio to Canadian parents in 1933. In eighth grade, Sue was sent to boarding school with the Sisters of St. Joseph in Toronto. Her experience boarding with the sisters led her to join the order upon graduating from high school. After joining, Sue was encouraged by the sisters to teach and spent 15 years teaching in Barrie, Kitimat, and Toronto.

In 1967, when Sue was finishing her BA in English Literature at the University of St. Michael’s College, another sister invited her to a series of lectures there given by Jean Vanier where he talked about L’Arche and living life with the people with an intellectual disability. Vanier’s talks moved Sue and the next year she participated in a Vanier retreat just outside of Toronto.

Then in 1971 she assisted with organizing a Faith and Light pilgrimage from Canada to Lourdes for people with disabilities, their families, and young people. These experiences were a turning point for Mosteller and in 1972 she requested and received permission to live and work at L’Arche Daybreak in Richmond Hill, Ontario, the first L’Arche community in Canada.

Sister Mosteller quickly became an integral part of the L’Arche community and oversaw many large initiatives. In 1976, she became L'Arche Daybreak’s second community leader. In the mid-1980s, Mosteller was instrumental in inviting Fr. Henri Nouwen to join the Daybreak community as their pastor. In 1985, Mosteller established the Dayspring Chapel, a centre for spiritual growth.

Beyond the Daybreak community, beginning in 1975 Mosteller served for nine years as the first international coordinator of L'Arche after Jean Vanier. During that time, her leadership contributed greatly to the expansion of the L'Arche worldwide network from 30 to 65 communities.

Over the ten years that Henri Nouwen was at Daybreak, Sue and Henri became close friends. After Henri Nouwen’s death in 1996, she became the literary executrix of his estate. As executrix, Mosteller oversaw the founding of the Henri J.M. Nouwen Archives and Research Collection at the John M. Kelly Library of the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto. Mosteller continued to live within the Daybreak community for 40 years until 2011 when she left to live with a small group of sisters in Toronto.

On November 5, 2011, Sister Sue Mosteller received an Honorary Doctorate from Tyndale University College and Seminary in Toronto for her “lifelong commitment to sharing the love of God with many of society’s marginalized people and her significant contributions to Christian life and learning over several decades.” She also received three other honorary doctorates:

• November 19, 1994 - Honorary Doctorate in Sacred Letters, Regis College, Toronto;
• May 6, 2000 - Honorary Doctorate, Doctor of Humane Letters, Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI; and
• December 1, 2001 - Honorary Doctorate in Sacred Letters, University of St. Michael's College, Toronto.

On November 3, 2022, Mosteller was welcomed by Her Excellency Mary Simon at Rideau Hall into the Order of Canada as an Officer for her dedication to improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and for her decades of work as a leader of L’Arche.

Today, in 2024, she continues to be a retired member of L’Arche Daybreak while living with her community of the Sisters of St. Joseph.