Sunday July 28, 2024,
5th day of our session in the steps of Angélique Le Sourd.
The young sisters from Cameroon and Madagascar attending an international session at the mother house, began their day with mass at the parish church.
Their melodious voices enchanted all the parishioners!
After the eucharistic celebration we left on a pilgrimage for the chapel of Our Lady of Pont d’Arz, as did out foundresses, to implore the protection of the Immaculate Mother of God and ask her for the grace of vocations for our congregation; and to give thanks for all the wonders she never ceases to accomplish in our different entities.
“Oh Mary, Our Lady of Pont d’Arz,
Mother of Christ and the Church,
you listened to the prayers of the sisters who came before us,
and the prayers of many Christians of this region.
You received visits from young people who consecrated their lives
to the service of the Gospel, here and elsewhere.
Today, stoop to hear our prayer
and present it to your Son,
so that young people dare to say “yes” to your call.”
We then had a picnic on the bank of the Arz river, not far from the chapel. It was a time of conviviality, sharing between sisters, as well as a time of relaxation. 
Following these moments of fraternal sharing, we left for the village, in the direction of Boschet, where Julienne, Jeanne Monnier and their brother Mister Monnier were born. Being in this place helped us realize how our foundresses put their lives in danger so that the priests being hunted down could celebrate mass during the revolution. For us, Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this place is a memorial that explains their great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
After that, we went in the direction of St Gorgon, and made a stop at the Graë chapel. This place reminds us of the procession our foundresses made on the feast of St. Mark. In this same chapel, many of the faithful pleaded with God to give them rain, through the intercession of Saint Mary Madeleine.
“Carrying joys, and sorrows,
we run to You,
through Mary Madeleine,
Lord, hear our cries.”
We finally arrived at the church of Saint Gorgon and saw the tombstone of Father Monnier, named parish rector on May 29, 1807. We ended our pilgrimage with a detour to the Barre village where Angélique guarded the flocks.
The day of July 28 was, for us, a day when we were truly immersed in the awareness of what our foundresses did: their dedication to the following of Christ and their great audacity.
Srs Célestine, Cameroun & Béatrice, France