Counting down: 10 days to go and 10 reasons to LOVE the new shrine

We are officially counting down the days until the opening of the shrine!

It’s official! In just ten days we will have a brand new shrine for Saint Mother Theodore Guerin to share with the world, and we’ve got at least ten reasons off the top of our heads for why you are going to LOVE the new shrine.

10. It portrays Mother Theodore in a new light…

Literally and metaphorically. Her remains, in fact, do finally rest under a beautifully illuminated space in her chapel, but the entire shrine portrays exclusive pieces of Mother Theodore’s life. This shrine will show the world who Mother Theodore really was (and why she was so great).

9. It is fresh and dynamic…

Words cannot describe the unique character of this shrine. It is not just a statue or a monument. The shrine has been carefully planned, constructed and designed to taste. The shrine will take you on a journey with Mother Theodore from France and a voyage over rough seas on the Cincinnati, through the rough terrain of America, and to her arrival in these very woods.

8. It is intimate…

The new Shrine is not a basilica like the one in Washington DC or the huge cathedrals in Europe. It is befitting the beauty and closeness she had with ordinary people in an extraordinary way.

7. It is the work of so many hands…

From its inception, the work of the shrine began with an invitation. The RSVP of that particular invitation brought many minds, hearts, and hands to the task. Writers, designers, artists,committee work, photographers, architects, constructors, planners, meetings, meetings, meetings. It took years, but it is here right now, right here.

6. It is a Living Ministry…

It is a place to showcase the aliveness of the Sisters of Providence from its beginnings until today and on into the future. It tells the story–from 1840–of the importance of meeting the needs of the day, whatever they might be.

5. It is a world classroom…

It is a place to come and learn about one woman’s journey and how her journey intersects with our journey. The Shrine pulls us into her life and lures us to ask questions she asked; and ​ponder how we can summon up the same type of courage she exuded.

4. It is a memory…

Not only will your experience at the shrine be unforgettable, but perhaps old memories will resurface. Throughout the shrine, you may find a picture that looks familiar, or an artifact that makes you smile. Some might say, “I lived with that Sister…that Sister taught me….etc.” That is a joy that is sure to come along with visiting the shrine.

​3. It will build a relationship…

As the average human trying to get through life here on Earth in the 21st century, we have many struggles. Guess what? So did Saint Mother Theodore in the 19th century. Those struggles are shockingly similar to all those struggles we deal with in today’s society. The shrine brings that realization to life as you pass by the curved walls that tell the stories of her mission and its financial struggles, and her battles with her own health.

2. It belongs to us all…

Mother Theodore is Indiana’s first saint, and America’s 8th saint. This is her permanent home now, where pilgrims from all over the world will come and deepen their knowledge about her and deepen their love for her.

1. The Shrine is a place of prayer…

Most poignantly, most profoundly, the shrine is a place where we can come and sit with her, talk with her, pray to her, pour out our troubles, our concerns, our cares, our joys, our thanks. It is a holy place where we can experience the God of the Universe, as she did. It is a place where we can be touched by providence, never ever to be the same, but called to live from a holier reality than when we entered that space, that holy space, where our dear old Mother Theodore resides forever.
She truly does watch over this place which she has built!