(page 12 of Vol.30-5)

September, 1999

Soundings Volume 22, Number 1

Going Back to Roots: A Pilgrimage

By Virginia M. O’Connell, CSJ

Last fall, I received a letter from the Community informing me that I was a winner in the “LePuy Lottery”! I was overjoyed! Five Sisters of St. Joseph planned our trip to France with great joy and expectation. On June 7^th we left Boston to visit Paris, Lyon, LePuy and Annecy; to cap it all off we would spend four days in Rome and have an audience with the Holy Father.

We enjoyed Paris and its Museums. At the Louvre we saw “The Lacemaker” painting. It was special because in the early days of the foundation, the Sisters made lace to support themselves. We rode buses, trains, boats and mastered the subway! We also visited the Rue de Bac where St. Catherine had apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This was a special spot in our Community history, because St. Vincent de Paul worked with Father Medaille when he was founding our Community.

Next, we visited Lyon and learned about Mother St. John Fontbonne, who founded our beloved Community. We stayed at the Motherhouse that she built and became aware of her courage and wisdom. We visited her “room” and also her grave. We were all struck by the fact that this woman was buried in a grave far from the main gate and near the memorial to the firemen of Lyon. I often wondered why we as a Congregation have had a deep respect for fire fighters and police officers. Each one of us felt a special sense of “holiness” and remarked to one another that this one woman started a Congregation that has sisters all over the world!

We then went to LePuy, a beautiful city with a breathtaking view of St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Statue of Our Lady of LePuy, which overlooks the city. You can see it for miles as you come into the city. The roads are narrow and very hilly. As we rode in, I remarked to the Sisters that I was amazed that they got any vocations because it was so hard to find the Motherhouse! Here we received a warm welcome from the Sisters. We toured the Motherhouse, the archives, Chapels, and the kitchen that is preserved from the early days of the Sisters. The kitchen holds a “sacredness” and all of us knew we were on Holy Ground. Imagine the dreams, desires and hopes that were talked about in this kitchen among the first Sisters of St. Joseph.

From LePuy we traveled by car to Annecy, very close to Switzerland nestled in the French Alps. The beauty of this place is breathtaking. The Motherhouse is very close to Lake Annecy and there are many canals in this area. This Motherhouse has beautiful gardens and you can see Lake Annecy from the windows. The Visitation Sisters’ Convent was next to our Motherhouse and the Chapel is there in its original form. The Sisters of the Visitation were founded by St. Francis de Sales, who also had a part in our formation. I could see the garden outside my window where St. Francis de Sales instructed the Visitation Sisters’ novices. Our roots and history entwined. We left here wanting to return; no one should go to France without visiting Annecy.

We took the train from Paris to Rome, where we stayed with the Dorothean Sisters on the Ginacola. It was fun to travel this way and I truly enjoyed it. Rome is such a wonderful place to visit. The audience with the Holy Father capped the trip. We were in the seventh row, to the Pope’s left.

It was a pilgrimage in many ways and I prayed for all at every chapel, church and shrine.