Something old, something new, something spiritual for you to do

The Sisters of Providence Log Cabin Chapel at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

If you are an ardent disciple of history, this is for you.
If you like to step away and embrace spirituality, this is for you.
If you like unique experiences, this is for you.

The new Log Cabin Chapel at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is historical, offers a spiritual segue to peace and well-being and it certainly is unique with its link to a saint’s journey on these sacred grounds.

The vintage chapel is a replica of the one visited by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and her five companions when they arrived here in the dense Indiana forest in 1840. It will be dedicated and blessed at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, which is also Saint Mother Theodore’s Feast Day. The celebration is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The new chapel features some modifications because of today’s safety standards, but otherwise it is as Saint Mother Theodore described it in her journal. It already has had quite a bit of use by people who just want to see it, and by others who have used it for time of prayer during a retreat.

After several years of discussion and planning, the cabin project came to life when David and Faye Masterson of Owensville, Ind., donated pieces of a log cabin from their property. Keith Ruble, Max Miller and Earl Rodgers brought the pieces together and initiated construction. Inmates from the U.S. Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute joined them as volunteers, as did some of the Congregation’s staff.

The cabin is open to the public. Seating is available inside and benches will be placed outside in the near future. Please come and enjoy this unique historical perspective.

What do you think it was like for Saint Mother Theodore and the five sisters who came with her when they tried to pray in the original Log Cabin Chapel? Saint Mother Theodore’s devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was paramount. Was it hard for her with the primitive pioneer surroundings?

What would it mean to you to visit the cabin now and experience the essence of the very beginnings of the Sisters of Providence? Share your thoughts with us.