By Sister Lucy Nigh
During the beatification ceremony on November 17, 1985 in St. Peter Basilica, Rome, Pope John Paul II bestowed the title "Blessed" upon Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger. This reflection by Sister Lucy about attending that event appeared in the March 1986 issue of The School Sister.
From North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia we came, pilgrim travelers gathering in Rome for the beatification ceremony of our congregation's foundress, Mother Mary Theresa of Jesus Gerhardinger. We 850 School Sisters of Notre Dame (representing 7,500 members in more than 30 countries) were joined by 4,000 of our friends, family members, co-workers, and students, all witnessing to the influence of a nineteenth-century Bavarian woman.
Our pilgrimage led us into an overwhelming experience of international unity and multi-cultured joy. This simple yet incredible woman seemed to have reached through barriers of culture, language, time, age, and distance to bring us together. Clearly, Mother Theresa was a woman whose spirit has touched the world.
For me, it was more than a ten-day journey of miles. I found myself traveling into new awarenesses, opened to a world much bigger than I had previously understood. When my feet were resting, my mind and heart were busy pondering, journeying into a deeper appreciation of the gift and challenge of being part of an international religious community.
We came to Rome to affirm the goodness of our foundress, now "Blessed" Mary Theresa of Jesus. In the celebration I, too, had the experience of "being blessed. " Throughout the days of pilgrimage I felt the warm strength and hopeful energy of a mother's blessing.
To read the original piece in The School Sister, click here.
