Sisters of the Cenacle

The Sisters of the Cenacle (full title: Congregation of Our Lady of the Retreat in the Cenacle) is a Roman Catholic Congregation founded in 1826 in the village of Lalouvesc (Ardèche), France. The founders were Saint Thérèse Couderc and diocesan priest Jean-Pierre Etienne Terme.

The French Revolution had left people with a deeply disturbed faith, few religious leaders, and little, if any, education in faith. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, seminaries were being re-opened and mission bands roamed the countryside rekindling the faith.

There was a young woman named Marie-Victoire-Thérèse Couderc, who lived in the small hamlet of Le Mas in the south of France. In 1825, her father brought her home from school to participate with the rest of the family in a mission given at Sablières. This mission was to be given by an energetic and zealous priest, Etienne Terme, who had recently founded a small group of teaching Sisters called the Sisters of St. Regis.

When Victoire revealed to him that she would like to enter religious life, he said, "I'll take you with me right now to the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Regis." Although her father was unhappy with this prospect, he eventually relented, and Victoire entered the Sisters of St. Regis and became Sister Thérèse.

The shrine of Saint John Francis Regis at Lalouvesc attracted large crowds, but Father Terme was distressed when he saw the disorder that often accompanied the pilgrimages. Since there was no suitable place for the women pilgrims to stay, he took the initiative and opened a house to welcome women and girls, entrusting it to some of the Sisters of Saint Regis.

In 1828, Thérèse Couderc was named Superior of the small congregation, and when Lalouvesc was made the mother house, she was named the Superior General.

At the hostel for women, the Sisters took in all who came to the door, and when they did not have enough beds, they spread straw in the corridors. Not only was the place crowded, but it was noisy and unruly.

Mother Thérèse approached Father Terme and told him that they could not live religious life in these circumstances. She managed, with a bit of difficulty it appears, to convince him that from then on, only those women who were willing to make their stay a time of serious prayer would be given lodging. The hostel was taking the first steps toward becoming a retreat house.

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