Our Lady of Providence Shrine to be re-dedicated

An important facet of the prayer ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., will be re-opened to the general public on April 6.

During a Vesper service at 4:30 p.m., the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence will be blessed in its new location in the vestibule of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

The public is welcome to attend the event.

The Our Lady of Providence Shrine most recently had been located in Providence Spirituality and Conference Center, but has been moved from that place to make room for the new permanent shrine to Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, which is currently under construction.

“Devotion to Mary under the title of Our Lady of Providence, Queen of the Home, has been an important part of the prayer tradition of our community,” said Sister Dawn Tomaszewski, general officer liaison to the shrine ministry.

“Moving the shrine to this location in the church will offer greater accessibility and visibility.”

The Our Lady of Providence Shrine will include a copy of the painting, “Mater Divinae Providentiae,” composed by Scipione Pulzoni in 1580, the “Book of Intentions,” and prayer candles, which can be lit.

Sister Dawn said that the Sisters of Providence encourage devotion to Our Lady of Providence under the title “Queen of the Home” through a formal association and through a Providence Prayer Circles ministry.

“The needs of families today are great,” Sister Dawn said. “Prayer is one way of bringing the needs of the family to God.”

Besides visiting the shrine, prayer requests may be sent online at https://spsmw.org/spirituality-prayer/contact/.

“Shrines are ‘containers for God,’” said Sister Jan Craven, the director of shrines at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. “This e-shrine is one of those sacred spaces where people can feel safe and people are changed when they come here. It all comes back to prayer. We have a special responsibility at this time to continue this legacy of prayer.

“When people come here, they find a sense of peace,” she added. “Prayer is seen as healing.”

In 1925, the Right Reverend A.J. Rawlinson, Chaplain of the Sisters of Providence, went to Rome to promote the Cause of Mother Theodore Guerin, foundress of the Sisters of Providence.

On his way to Rome, Monsignor Rawlinson was a guest at the Catholic University of America. While there, he saw a copy of the painting.

After his work in Rome was completed, Monsignor Rawlinson traveled to the Church of San Carlo, where the Barnabite Fathers showed him the Shrine of Our Lady of Providence.

The Sisters of Providence shrine was established in 1928 and remained in place in Foley Hall until 1989, when Foley Hall was demolished.

The shrine was then moved to the Providence Spirituality and Conference Center, which became the official “front door,” to the Sisters of Providence community.