I'd have bet this would be a nightmare. A French prof at my un. said
envelope is fine, but greeting should be "Très révérende mère" or
"Révérende mère." No "ma" and no "chère." There is a French guide for
the secretary including proper forms of address for everyone in the
universe, but I don't have it.
Good luck to all you Claresses-writers! (May we know what the Claresses
have that so intrigues you?)
Best,
Kathryn
p.s. If I pass near Poligny, I'll stop and ask the Mother Superior how
one should address her in a letter.
"Roussel, Christine" wrote:
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> I would amend this slightly. Envelope is fine; greeting would be better as
> "Ma Reverende Mere:" (sorry, I can't do accents on my machine).
>
> Peace,
>
> Christine Roussel
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kwildgen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 11:09 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: claresses in poligny
>
> This is my best (educated) guess:
> Envelope: La Révérende Mère supérieure
> Greeting: Chère mère
>
> If anyone else knows for sure, please respond. In the meantime I'm going
> to contact some French friends for guidance, although they're not the
> sort who write to French nuns very often! It will take a while as I'm
> off to give a final exam. In any case using the above will offend no
> one.
> Best,
> Kathryn
>
> Alison Maloney wrote:
> >
> > Please, if anyone knows, respond on list, I would like to know too as I'm
> about to
> > contact the Claresses in Alencon - small world !!
> >
> > Alison M.
> >
> > nwarren wrote:
> >
> > > I am currently working on a project on St. Colette of Corbie, and this
> summer
> > > I will be doing archival research in France. Some of the manuscripts I
> hope
> > > to consult are held by the Claresses in Poligny. This may be a bit of a
> long
> > > shot, but does anyone happen to know to whom I should address
> correspondence
> > > at this house? I found the address (Soeurs Clarisses, 13, rue
> Sainte-Colette,
> > > 39800 Poligny) on the web site for the Franciscans in France, but the
> name of
> > > the superior is not given. Also, what is the proper way for a lay
> person to
> > > address the superior in written correspondence in French (I am fluent in
> > > French, but I have never before had occasion to write to the superior of
> a
> > > French monastic community). Please feel free to respond to these rather
> > > esoteric questions off list ([log in to unmask]). Thanks in
> advance.
> > >
> > > Best regards,
> > >
> > > Nancy Warren
> > > Assistant Professor
> > > Department of English
> > > Utah State University
> > > Logan, UT 84322-3200
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