Vacation / Travel Supplement
Take a walk at ‘The Woods’: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods offers an array of activities for visitors
A banner of St. Theodora Guérin is displayed outside the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was canonized on Oct. 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI. (File photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Dave Cox (Special to The Criterion)
SAINT-MARY-OF-THE-WOODS—Who could resist walking along pathways under a canopy of dozens of species of trees, mostly native to Indiana?
Does an oasis away from daily commutes, deadlines and to-do lists sound appealing?
Want to find something interesting to explore, something not found anywhere else in Indiana, something that is rare in most of the United States?
If you are looking for an economical, calming, educational and spiritual vacation experience then Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the home of the Sisters of Providence, might be your ideal destination.
It is a perfect respite for travelers looking to stretch their vacation dollars by visiting a nearby location for a weekend, a day or even a few hours on a one-tank trip.
The congregation’s motherhouse is open to visits by individuals, families, large groups and small groups. Guided tours or self-guided tours are available throughout the year.
Providence Center is the welcoming place for guests. It is known as “A Place to Meet, Learn, Grow.”
Meeting facilities and retreat services are available for very small groups or for gatherings as large as several hundred people. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods also hosts numerous weddings, receptions and proms throughout the year.
Learning opportunities are readily available through many educational and spiritual programs offered on the grounds.
“Growing” is a prime subject, and there are many ways to do it on a personal level at the Woods.
Visitors can connect with the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, where things literally grow daily.
The most popular opportunity for visitors is the National Shrine of St. Theodora Guérin, foundress of the Sisters of Providence, who is lovingly called St. Mother Theodore by the sisters.
Indiana’s first saint was canonized on Oct. 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI. She came to Indiana in 1840 on a mission to educate Hoosier women.
Within her first year here, she started an academy that is now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, the oldest Catholic women’s college in the United States. She and her companion sisters also opened Catholic schools throughout Indiana and later throughout the United States.
Her remains are at rest in the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception, where pilgrims have space to pray and can touch her coffin made of walnut lumber from the grounds.
Visitors can also learn more about her life in the Heritage Museum that often has some of her artifacts on display.
The ornate Blessed Sacrament Chapel adjacent to the motherhouse church is a sacred space open for prayer each day.
Numerous shrines can be found on the grounds, notably the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence, which is located in the Providence Center near the Heritage Museum.
A replica of the Grotto at Lourdes, which was built with some stones brought there from France, graces the scenic wooded campus, and provides a spiritual place to pray, relax and enjoy nature.
Another memorable shrine is the St. Anne Shell Chapel near the motherhouse church. The small chapel’s interior walls are covered with mussel shells from the nearby Wabash River.
For those who enjoy architecture, several opportunities are available to examine different styles of buildings, most notably the Church of the Immaculate Conception that was dedicated more than 100 years ago. Visitors often compare it to European cathedrals.
The White Violet Center for Eco-Justice offers an education center, suitable for small meetings or group gatherings, and that’s just the beginning.
The center’s grounds feature a reflection pond surrounded by plants, perfectly situated for a place of prayer, meditation and quiet conversation.
There also are organic gardens and croplands, a nature trail, and the
prize-winning herd of more than 60 alpacas, which are very family friendly and photogenic.
Visitors from all 50 states and all continents have traveled to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, many to venerate the remains of St. Theodora, but also in search of ways to meet, learn and grow.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is located about 10 minutes northwest of Terre Haute and about 80 minutes west of Indianapolis.
The Providence Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Sunday brunch, the winner of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star’s Readers’ Choice Award for the past two years, is available each Sunday from 10:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
Food service can be available to visitors with prior arrangements.
Overnight accommodations are available in Terre Haute, just minutes away from the sisters’ motherhouse and the beautiful campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, which also is home to the Mary Hulman George School of Equine Studies, the only college equine program in Indiana.
For equine studies majors, college is literally as challenging as taming a wild mustang. Visitors will enjoy watching the beautiful horses from afar as they graze at the farm.
(For more information about Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, call 812-535-4531 or log on to www.ProvCenter.org.) †
