Providence Pavers offer a meaningful Saint Mary-of-the-Woods connection

The Sisters of Providence have been offering Providence Pavers at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for about two years. These bricks can be engraved and are placed at either the fountain on the Avenue or at the Our Lady of Campus statue in front of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

It has been so wonderful to see the many pavers with their messages in honor or in memory of family, friends and Sisters of Providence. People from all over the country have reserved their Providence Paver as a way to connect themselves permanently to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

The Vincennes, Ind., St. Rose Academy Class of 1959 is one such group who purchased a paver with their class name on it. After the paver was installed, Gayle Bledsoe and her classmates received a photo, inspiring them to come for a visit. Although she and others in their group had never been to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, they wanted to take this opportunity to see their paver in person and to visit with friends and former teachers.

Gayle and company were delighted to have the opportunity to see each other (coming from Illinois, Indianapolis and southern Indiana) and to visit Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. I loved hearing about their mini adventures seeing the alpacas at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and touring the grounds on the SP bus.

It is so sweet to me that such a simple brick paver allowed this group to come together for fun and friendship. I have heard many other stories like this! I chose to tell you about the Class of 1959 because this just happened last week, but I routinely get emails, phone calls and notes from people who have the intention or hope of visiting Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to see their Providence Paver.

The paver program is really a special way to claim a piece of holy ground — a land walked by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and by thousands of her Sisters of Providence, alumnae/i and friends living her legacy.

Note: The Providence Paver program is complete. If you’re still interested in purchasing a memorial/tribute Paver brick, you can purchase a brick in Foley Park (across from Providence Spirituality & Conference Center and the Church of the Immaculate Conception).