By: Sr. Mary Michael
Francis Xavier and Rose Philippine Duchesne – what do a Spaniard from the time of St. Teresa of Avila (16th century) and a deeply pious young woman who survived the French Revolution have in common? More than one might think! Let me start off on a personal note—personal to us Carmelites of the Divine Heart of Jesus, that is. Our Foundress, Bl. Maria Teresa of St. Joseph, whom we affectionately call Dear Mother, was deeply moved by St. Francis Xavier, the missionary Saint! According to an unofficial source we recently consulted (just yesterday!), it happened that new information (which was actually old information, i.e. original manuscripts, documents, letters, etc.) about the Society of Jesus, including information about Francis Xavier, resurfaced and was translated into other languages around 1905, hitting Germany about 15 years after Dear Mother began our first home for orphan children in Berlin. She was profoundly inspired by him, so much so that he became one of the six patrons of our congregation – listed third only to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Joseph. Let me make this clear, this means he is ranked even above St. Teresa of Avila! That’s quite a feat…coming from a foundress who fell in love with St. Teresa of Avila, longed to be one of her daughters, and said, ‘It is to be Carmel and nothing else!’ Dear Mother gave Francis to us as our model and patron, especially regarding the apostolic dimension of our charism. Our directory quotes a letter of Dear Mother’s where she writes, “Please first of all, take up the Rule [of St. Albert] and seek to inspire the Sisters with it. As in my own case, we have to fall in love with St. Mother Teresa, with St. Francis Xavier and with the holy Rule. Then our love will grow strong and unconquerable; it will sanctify our souls and lead us to Heaven.” An additional fun fact for you—Francis Xavier became the patron of our province in 2018, bumping St. Agnes off the pedestal. However, it brings consolation to my heart that I’m sure they are both fine with this switch in heaven…and, don’t get us wrong, we still love St. Agnes!
Now, what does St. Rose Philippine Duchesne have to do with Carmel DCJ? Philippine has a fascinating history, if you ask me. She began religious in the Visitation order in 1788 at the age of about 19. After only 4 years, the tide of the French Revolution forced the community to disband. Imagine—only just beginning following the Lord in religious life and your whole world turning upside down or, should I say, inside out! Philippine, having found her home in the cloister (basically) was now thrown once again into the streets of France where she sought to find and serve Christ in the poor and suffering. After about 9 years of this, she and some companions tried to reestablish their Visitation convent, but to no avail. It was then that God led Philippine to Madeleine Sophie Barat and the newly founded Society of the Sacred Heart. Our Dear Mother had several encounters with the Sacré –Coeur Sisters and spoke very highly of them…
“I think I have never seen Sisters like these, never found such a religious spirit, in any country, in any convent, like these daughters of Madame Barat! It all has to do with humility and charity. These two virtues filled this little paradise with a wonderful perfume, and even more, this humility and charity radiated from each of the Sisters’ eyes. Wonderful. They led us through their entire convent, and I cannot say which of the Sisters I love the most, which I most revere: the choir or the lay Sisters. What a joy for all of Heaven, and happy Madame Barat, if she even had only one such perfect convent...I will always thank God for the grace of getting to know this religious community!”
Quite the 5 stars, right!? So, wouldn’t you imagine that when Dear Mother arrived in St. Charles (just outside of St. Louis) in 1920 and found a suitable property for a home for old folks, and discovered that a Sacré –Coeur convent and school were just three blocks down the road, she would have gone to become acquainted with the Sisters!? And wouldn’t you know that Philippine died in that very convent 68 years previous! We like to think it’s very possible that some of the children who would get in trouble just so they could sit by the aged Sr. Philippine’s side because they liked her so much were some of the very same old folks that our Sisters cared for at the end of their life! Crazy!...Or rather, beautiful!
Besides both having connections to our Carmel DCJ, both came from relatively well-to-do families, both were very human with deeply personal, holy, inspiring, and enduring friendships with the founders of their respective orders—St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Madeleine Sophie Barat—who you can see also became Saints, both became missionary religious who longed to bring the gospel to new lands and pagan peoples (both actually did bring the gospel to Indians, i.e. Native Americans and to Indians in India)—Saints crazy on fire with a love for Christ that impelled them, that drove them to leave family, home, and country for the only One truly worthy of such such sacrifices. Finally, ironically one of my favorite aspects of their lives, they both died in what could have, and probably did to some degree, feel like failure. Francis Xavier was just 20 or so miles from the looming coast of China, the stronghold of the most influential Asian culture, where he longed to spread the gospel, but never made it. Philippine’s dream as a Sacré –Coeur Sister was to work amongst the Indians. She finally got the chance to do just that when she reached the tender age of 70-something, but due to declining health and an inability to learn the Potawatomi language in her old age, as much as she longed to be with the Indians and enculturate herself, she couldn’t hold out and was sent back to St. Charles after only one year with the Potawatomi tribe in Kansas. Sometimes it’s the ‘defeat’ of the Saints, their natural shortcomings or unfulfilled dreams that actually make them most relatable and, therefore, most inspiring.
Lord, make us Saints. It may not look the way we want it to look, we may not do the things we think we want to do, but when we do your will you promise us your grace and your love, your presence with us—let that be enough for us! Suscipe. Take, Lord, my heart and set it aflame.
St. Francis Xavier and St. Philippine Duchesne, pray for us!
Below: We toured Philippine’s shrine in St. Charles, MO, on her feastday, November 18th. Side note: If you’d like to learn more about Francis Xavier, this is a great documentary! –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdvukHeFQfA
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