SMTG Sites Pilgrimage 2023

« To Our Photo / Video Gallery

July 12-22, 2023

Reflection on the tour, “In the Footsteps of St. Mother Theodore Guerin” by Myra Moreno

I was blessed to go on the tour, “In the Footsteps of St Mother Theodore Guerin.” I wanted to go on this tour to learn more about her life and her heritage. I graduated from Mother Theodore Guerin High School in River Grove. I belong to St. Mother Theodore Guern parish in Elmwood Park.

Sr. Sue Paweski, S.P and Sr. Janice Smith, S.P. worked with the travel agency to plan the pilgrimage to France. They worked with Sr. Gillian Murphy, S.P. on the pilgrimage to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence.

Anne-Therese was born on October 2, 1798 to Laurent and Isabelle Guerin in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Britanny, France. Her father was a sailor and her mother was a homemaker. Their family was very religious.

St. Mother Guerin had several tragedies in her life. When she was young two of her brothers died in separate fires. When she was fifteen, her father was robbed and murdered coming home from a sea voyage. He was a sailor in the Napoleonic Navy.

After her father’s death, her mother could not perform the daily tasks of living. St. Mother Guerin had to take over the running of the household. St. Mother Guerin wanted to be a nun. She repeatedly asked her mother for permission to become a nun. Her mother depended on her to run the household, so she did not want her to leave home. Her mother did not give her permission to become a nun until she was almost twenty-five years old. When she became a nun, she became Sr. Theodore.

The first full day of the tour, Thursday, we landed in Paris. We started our pilgrimage by boarding a coach that would take us around France. Our first stop was in Chartres. We visited the Notre Dame Cathedral there. It is well known for the bright colors and the biblical stories of its stained-glass windows.

On Friday, we visited the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence at Ruille-sur-Loir. The nuns at the Motherhouse were very welcoming. Sr. Gillian showed us around the Motherhouse. It consists of several buildings including a church. It has a large, garden with lovely flowers and abundant vegetables.

Shortly after our arrival we attended a Mass in English in the church next to the Motherhouse. The church has paintings with stories from the Bible along its walls. Behind the altar are beautiful stained-glass windows. It has a statue of St. Mother Guerin inside the church. There is another statue of her outside on the grounds behind the church.

We had lunch with the Mother Superior, Sr. Josette Bijloos, S.P. and Sr. Gillian. They told us the history of the Sisters of Providence in France.

After lunch, Sr Gillian accompanied us on a tour of, the Little Providence. It is the original Motherhouse built in 1806 by Fr. Jacques Francois Dujarie, the parish priest. It is located about one mile from the current Motherhouse. It was built so the nuns would have a place to live and work. It was used as a school so the nuns could teach the children of the area. It was also used as a small medical facility for the poor. There is a small chapel next to the Motherhouse. St. Mother Guerin lived in this house after she joined the Sisters of Providence.

I thought about St. Mother Guerin living and working at Little Providence. She loved living and working in a community where she could help people. She extended God’s love and care to the children she taught.

She was compassionate with the poor that she ministered to. She was devoted to serving God and the poor.

Shortly after St. Mother Guerin joined the Sisters of Providence, she became very ill. They thought that she would die. She was given a very strong medicine. It saved her life, but it affected her digestive system. For the rest of her life, she was only able to eat small amounts of bland food or soup.

On Saturday, we visited Alencon. It was the original home of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin and their family. It was here that their daughter, St. Therese of Lisieux was born. We toured their home and learned their family history. They were a very religious and devout family.

We spent the night in St. Malo. It is a port city located on the channel. The town is surrounded by ramparts that were built in the Middle Ages.

On Sunday, we continued learning about St. Mother Guerin. We attended Mass in French in St. Quay Portrieux. The Guerin family is buried in that town. After lunch, we saw the family home of St. Mother Guerin in Etables-sur-Mer. It is a cozy thatched cottage with a garden. Inside the house is the story of St. Mother Guerin’s life. There are pictures from the canonization ceremony for St. Mother Guerin.

Then we went to the nearby beach and cliffs where she went to play as a child. As she grew older, she went there to pray and reflect on the beauty around her. I could imagine her being there and enjoying the sand, the water, and the seashells. She poured out her heart to God asking him to fulfill her desire to become a nun and serve him.

On Monday, we visited Mont-St-Michel. It is a town and an abbey on an island. St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches had a vision that St. Michael wanted him to build a shrine to him on the Mont. So, St. Aubert had it built. It is a breath-taking sight.

In the afternoon, we went to Bayeux to see the tapestry that tells the story of the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in the year 1066. It is a magnificent work of art. It is over 229 feet long.

In Bayeux, we visited the British cemetery to pay our respects to the brave soldiers that died during the Normandy invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

On Tuesday, we visited one of the D-Day museums to learn about D-Day and World War II. We explored Omaha beach in Normandy. It one of the five beaches where the allies landed on D-Day. The German fortifications and craters are eerie reminders of the carnage that took place there. We visited the American cemetery to pay our respects to the brave soldiers that died there.

My dad was part of the D-Day invasion so it was especially poignant for me. He survived the invasion to fight on until World War II ended. Then he was able to come home.

On Wednesday we continued our pilgrimage to Lisieux. The day was devoted to learning about St. Therese of Lisieux. We visited the convent which she entered when she was fifteen years old. Her tomb is there. We visited the Basilica that was built after she was canonized. It is one hundred and fifty years since she was born. It is one hundred years since her beatification. It is a Jubilee year for St. Therese The Basilica has the relics of her parents, Lous and Zelie Martin. In the afternoon we continued our trip to Paris.

On Thursday we toured Paris by coach to see the Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and several other sights in the city. Notre Dame is under reconstruction from the fire of 2019. We visited the Sainte-Chapelle. It was built to house the Crown of Thorns, and fragments of the True Cross. Sainte-Chapelle has fifteen stained glass windows. The inside radiates with colorful light. I was awed by the beauty.

The afternoon was open for individual exploration. I went to the Louvre Museum. I enjoyed seeing the different art forms, such as paintings, statues, and jewelry. I especially enjoyed the Mona Lisa.

On Friday, the last full day of the pilgrimage, we went to Versailles. It was the capital of France for one hundred and fifty years. It was built by Louis XIV. It was the center of French government until the start of the French Revolution on May 5, 1789. It was very elegant and ornate. The gardens have many beautiful fountains, statues, and plants.

On Saturday, we flew back to Chicago. The tour ended, but my reflection on St. Mother Guerin’s life did not end there.

She was a very brave and courageous woman. When she went to St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, she was sent to start a school to teach the children in the New World. There was no house or school there to welcome her or her companions. In less then a year she had built a school for girls. This is an example of her grit and determination.

As time went on, she was able to build more schools in Indiana and Illinois. She opened two orphanages and a free pharmacy. Even though she had many tragedies in her life, she did not let them hold her back. She persevered and fulfilled her goals. She realized her dream of becoming a nun and serving God and the poor.

I am thankful that I was able to go on the tour to learn more about St. Mother Guerin’s life and her native country. I admire her for her devotion to God and the poor.