Treasures
from the Archives

Our Lady of the Cenacle

Treasures
from the Archives

Our Lady of the Cenacle

Founders at work

From Hospitality to Retreats

Father Terme discovered the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius during a personal retreat. He saw them as the best way to spiritually accompany the pilgrims welcomed in the house of Lalouvesc. The Sisters would experience the Exercises and become familiar with them in order to be able to give them to others,

In the autumn of 1829, Father Terme chose to make his retreat at the Jesuit residence in Vals. There he experienced for the first time the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius: a progressive journey of prayer and meditation based on the Gospels, which invites one to let themselves be touched by Christ, and which leads to interiorization and conversion. Father Terme discovered the means he was seeking to accompany the spiritual journey of the women welcomed into the house of Lalouvesc.

Retreat according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius; By J.B.A. Boucher, priest, Paris, 1807.
Retreat according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius; By J.B.A. Boucher, priest, Paris, 1807. Source: MM, 2S. (On the title page there is mentioned: "Community of the Religious of the Retreat of St Regis de Lalouvesc")
Retreat booklet of Fr. Renault and meditation sheets Source: ACF, 1 S 2 / 119
Retreat booklet of Fr. Renault and meditation sheets Source: ACF, 1 S 2 / 119

As soon as he returned from his retreat, Father Terme invited the sisters to live these Exercises and to bring them to life for the women they welcomed. Without yet fully understanding the method, Mother Thérèse and her sisters embarked on the adventure. They draw nourishment from these Exercises for their own benefit and learnt how to pass them on. The copying of retreat meditations given by Jesuit Fathers, in the form of small booklets gathered in cardboard folders, is now part of their daily life: the Ignatian tone of the Congregation is given.