Today we begin posting each day a quote from one of our foundresses, Mother St. Pierre Cinquin. Each quote is meant to be a source of contemplation during this time of isolation, separation, prayer, and reflection.

” …Have courage, and let us pray and struggle calmly against the difficulties we are sent” (page 10, Letters of Mother St. Pierre).

Born May 22, 1845 in Beaujeu, France, Jeanne Cinquin received the religious habit at the monastery of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament (Lyon, France) in 1868 and was given the name of Sister St. Pierre of the Passion. She left France in October, 1868 for a new mission in Galveston, Texas. Just a few months after arriving in Galveston, she was sent to San Antonio to open a new hospital to tend to the victims of the cholera epidemic. At the same time, she was given the responsibility of establishing the new foundation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio. She served the Congregation as a superior and spiritual leader until her death in 1891.

We are fortunate to have the majority of letters that Mother St. Pierre wrote and received during her life in the Congregation. They were translated and curated by Sr. Kathleen Garvey, CCVI. From her forward:

Mother St. Pierre emerges from these pages as a woman who knew and acknowledged her weaknesses and her strengths, who was as human as we are, but who loved the Incarnate Word with her whole being and sacrificed herself for His glory and for the service of His brothers and sisters. By knowing her, we will become more and more aware of the spirit of our religious family and the assimilation of this grace-filled spirit will guide us in living our life in and for today’s world as a group of religious women dedicated to the Charity of the Incarnate Word.

We invite you to reflect with these words from our founder, Mother St. Pierre Cinquin:

Obtained from: https://www.ccvichapel.org/post/mother-st-pierre-cinquin