Sister Ernestine Declercq

Sister Ernestine (November 9, 1915, Wielsbeke, Belgium - January 22, 2011, Anzegem, Belgium), born Esther Declercq, was a of the order of Saint Vincent de Paul (Dutch : Heilige Vincentius à Paulo) at Anzegem in Belgium.
Early life and relatives
Sister Ernestine was a daughter of Marie Elodie Devenyn and of Ernest Constant Declercq, a farmer and flax merchant at Wielsbeke in Belgium descending from the known families of Declercq and Vercruysse from Deerlijk in Belgium and from Van den Broucke, a leading family in the flax industry at Wielsbeke. Among her grand-nephews and grand-nieces are for instance soprano and music writer Françoise Vanhecke, singer Carmelina Sorvillo, physicist Nico Felicien Declercq. Her brothers were Joseph Declercq, a farmer, and Michel Achiel Renatus Declercq, a flax merchant, whereas her sisters were Maria Declercq, a midwife and head of a maternity, Valentine Declercq, Rachel Declercq, a school teacher at Olsene and Judith Declercq, the provincial president of the Belgian National Child Welfare organisation and a lecturer and co-founder in 1937 at the Nurse Training Institute 'Maria Middelares' that would later become 'Hoger Instituut voor Verpleegkunde', associated with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Kulak in Belgium.
Sister Ernestine went to boarding school at Anzegem.
Career, jail ministry and mission
She has been a teacher at Anzegem’s primary school and secondary school on general subjects and particularly French and Music. From 1943 until 1958 she has been a school Director at Ingooigem in Belgium. Simultaneously she has worked at the Women’s jail (Dutch: “kleine Refuge” and “grote Refuge”) of Sint Andries near Bruges. On November 18, 1958, when she was 43 years old, she became a Missionary at Uvira in Congo where she taught French classes. After having been taken hostage at Uvira, she returned to Belgium where she became the school Director at Mannekensvere while she continued her Jail Ministry. At the end of her career she lived at the monastery of Anzegem, then at Vichte before she spent her final years at a home for elderly persons “Woon- en Zorgcentrum Ter Berk” at Anzegem. Because of her educational role and because of her captivity in Congo, Sister Ernestine has been well-known. Sister Ernestine’s intelligence and empathy have always been very much appreciated by everyone and enabled her to play a crucial role in negotiating with the rebels at Uvira during her captivity in Congo.
Hostage at Uvira in Congo
In 1964 the East of the Republic of Congo was afflicted by the Simba Rebellion. A group of Belgian and Italian Sisters were taken hostage by rebellion leader Gaston Soumaliot. The Sisters have been forced to hard labor and numerous atrocities were reported by news agencies all over the world. Uvira, near the border with Burundi was a supply route for the rebellions. Sisters being taken hostage was a dramatic turn for the new Republic of Congo that has been widely covered by newspapers all over the world and that was strongly condemned by the United Nations. Embarrassment on the one hand and modesty on the other hand have probably been the reasons why the hostage taken Sisters have remained silent about the events for many decades. Sister Ernestine has been among the imprisoned Sisters together with for instance Sister Begga Afra Theys from the same convent and born in Rollegem. It is said that Sister Ernestine has saved lives because of her personal diplomacy skills and knowledge of the local language. From Uvira they have escaped on the road to Bukavu from where they returned to Belgium by airplane.
Ancestry
The Belgian archives reveal the following ancestors of Ernest Constant Declercq born 1872 in Wielsbeke:
*Ivo Declercq (married Mathilde Van den Broucke born 1869 in Wielsbeke),
*Leo Bernard Declercq (married Therese Loncke born 1840 in Wielsbeke),
*Pierre Joseph Declercq (married Barbara Therese D’Hont in Kuurne),
*Renier Declercq (married Marie Anne Lombaerde born 1770 in Kuurne),
*Jean Declercq (born 1706 in Deerlijk married Marie Monteyne born 1734 in Kuurne),
*Pierre Declercq (born 1673 in Deerlijk, married Marie Prienne born, Harelbeke 1703)
*Antoine Declercq (married Martine Vercruysse born 1656 in Deerlijk)
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