Coming Home to the Motherhouse

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” - St. Augustine

When St. Augustine shared this timeless thought, he was talking about God. There’s a restlessness that exists in us until we come to rest in God. As Ron Rolheiser, OMI suggests in his book, The Restless Heart, until we “come home.”

For members of a community, we have another type of “homecoming” that is also very powerful. Many of us have the joy and privilege of visiting the places of our founders—their homes. We get to walk where they walked, touch their front doors, maybe even sit in a pew and pray where they prayed in their churches.

For the Daughters of Charity, one of our most significant homes is our Motherhouse. There are over 70 provinces of Daughters of Charity through-out the world. Each of these provinces has it’s own provincial house, but we all share one Motherhouse. With over 15,000 Daughters of Charity, you can see why we would need to take turns, over time, visiting this special home of ours. 

The Motherhouse chapel is small and simple. It’s easy to pass it by without knowing at all. From the street, there is only a simple building façade with a very plain sign. I sometimes wonder if that’s why people often refer to it as “Rue du Bac,” the name of the street it’s on.

In addition to being our home, our Motherhouse is the site of the apparitions of Mary to St. Catherine Laboure in 1830, resulting in the Miraculous Medal. Over a million pil-grims visit our Motherhouse chapel each year. So in a way, we share our Motherhouse with the whole world. Still, it is our home. And there is no place like home.

There’s something overwhelming about praying with Sisters from all over the world. The Motherhouse is the residence and ministry to Daughters of Charity from all over, speaking many languages. They are serving the entire community and the many pilgrims who respond to Our Lady’s invitation to “Come to the foot of this altar. Here, graces will be spread over all who ask for them with confi-dence and fervor.”

There’s also something beautiful about praying with the pilgrims who visit this special place. You see, it’s their home too.

If you’re ever in Paris, stop in at 140 Rue du Bac. Come over to our home. Our Lady is waiting for you there with her Son. A Daughter of Charity is holding the door open, inviting you in, and welcoming you home. Until then, you can visit the Motherhouse with us virtually here.

Written by Sister Lisa Laguna, D.C.