Roots & Wings Program Brings African & Indian Sisters to Le Puy
-
March 19, 2023The Roots & Wings program (March 13-19) brought young sisters with temporary or one year of perpetual vows from India, Burkina Faso, Congo, Madagascar, Chad, and Sri Lanka. The objective of the program was to give the sisters an opportunity to re-read their lives and vocational call in the light of the origins of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and to move into how they can live their vowed “yes” today within the reality of our world and the “Dear Neighbor” near and far.
The sisters also learned that Le Puy has been a center for lace-making since 1407, and that the founding sisters made lace at night after ministering to the people of the city during the day. This work earned them a living, which distinguished them from the cloistered nuns of the time who relied on donations to sustain themselves. This independence was one of the major reasons the Sisters of St. Joseph were able to emerge and survive as the Church’s new apostolic movement took shape.
The sisters spent a day in Lyon to learn more about Mother St. John Fontbonne. They visited the Origin & Evolution Centre, the grave of Mother St. John, the chapel where she prayed for the sisters she sent to the USA, and the Basilica at Fourvière. Sr. Rita Bujold (Lyon-Maine) served as their guide.
Sr. Judy Donovan (Lyon-Maine) and Sr. Gloria Philip (Buenos Aires) served as presenters, and Sr. Simone Saugues (Institute of St. Joseph) was the French-English translator.