LAST DAYS
Her dear Mother Regis Hamilton, whom she had found as Superior at St.
Charles, on her return from the Pottowatomie Mission, was replaced three
years later and sent to Canada. The aged Mother missed her greatly, and
when Mother Barat asked her at a later period, what she could do to give
her pleasure, she begged for the return of Mother Regis, though, with
her usual disinterestedness, it was for the benefit of the community
rather than her own, that she desired it. Her petition was granted, and
on New Year's Day, 1852, it was with great joy and consolation that she
welcomed back her beloved daughter. Mother Regis was pained to find her
venerable Mother so worn and weak; but the joy of the latter on having
her dear Mother Regis with her again, together with the tender and
tactful care with which she was surrounded, restored her strength to
some extent and probably prolonged her life for a while.
Two other consolations were given her at this time. She learned that
Mother du Rousier was coming to the United States as Visitatrix, and
that Father Verhaegen, who for twenty years had had all her confidence,
was come to St. Charles as resident pastor. During the following summer
she was seized with a violent fever which, though soon broken, left her
so debilitated that it was thought prudent to anoint her. The next
morning, with her usual energy and fortitude, she wrote three letters;
one to Mother Barat, another to her sister, and a third to Father de
Smet. She realized that her end was now very near, and she longed for
the moment that would unite her to the God she had so ardently loved,
and so faithfully served during the whole of her long career. But she
awaited the call with the utmost patience and serenity of soul. She
still spent a great deal of time on her knees, after her usual fashion,
before the Tabernacle, where she was now and then taken with a spell of
weakness. Those who happened to be at hand would help her out, but as
soon as she had recovered she would return to her prayer as before.
To the last Mother Regis Hamilton was a ministering angel to her,
rendering her all the personal services, that nothing but her weakness
and exhaustion would have induced her to accept. She lived, as it were,
in an atmosphere of peace, gratitude and love, humble, simple and docile
as a little child. Faithful to her habits of mortification, she would
not consent to have a fire lighted in the little stove that had been
placed in her room, even when the chilly autumn days had come.
On the 17th of November, Mother du Rousier arrived, after traveling in
great haste over a long distance, and by very bad roads. Their meeting
and the long and intimate communication that took place between these
two holy souls was a great consolation to both, and a source of light
and strength for Mother du Rousier in her great mission of foundress of
the Society of the Sacred Heart in South America. A little combat of
humility terminated the interview, each claiming a blessing from the
other, and considering that it was not her place to give hers to any one
so far above her. The touching contest ended in a compromise, and
together they blessed each other. Then after exchanging their profession
crosses, they parted, looking forward to a future meeting in the realms
of the Blessed. Twenty-eight years went by before that happy meeting
took place.
Mother Duchesne had taken to her bed only the day before the greatly
desired visit, and no one thought that her release was so immediately at
hand. For this reason it was that Mother du Rousier, who had interrupted
pressing business to hasten to her bedside, left the same day, November
17. The following night the venerable patient was very restless. She
could not sleep, but kept repeating prayers with acts of faith, hope,
charity and contrition. Early in the succeeding forenoon, Father
Verhaegen came to give her the last Sacraments and the indulgence _in
articulo mortis_. She continued to sink visibly from hour to hour, but
kept again and again repeating her prayers with the greatest ardor until
exhaustion would compel her to stop. Then she would murmur expressions
of gratitude for the charity of Mother Hamilton and the community.
Finally, she remained for a considerable time perfectly calm and united
to God, whispering once in a while the ejaculation, "Jesus, Mary and
Joseph, I give you my heart, my soul, and my life." At last, at noon
exactly, on November 18th, 1852, her pulse ceased to beat, and all was
over.
The Religious felt that in her they had lost a treasure of holiness, a
shining model of the most heroic virtues, and they could find
consolation only in the thought that, in her also, they had henceforth a
powerful protectress in Heaven. The news of her decease spread rapidly
throughout St. Charles and the surrounding country, profoundly stirring
all hearts. "The Saint is dead!" "Oh, what a loss for us!" were the
exclamations heard on all sides. The Religious and pupils who, with
great emotion, knelt in prayer about her remains were struck with the
look of celestial serenity and happiness upon her features. Mother
Hamilton, convinced that she would one day be canonized, wished to
preserve her portrait for posterity. The only artist in the place was a
Mr. Le Faivre, who was in the last stages of tuberculosis and confined
to his bed; but such was his veneration for the holy Mother, that he had
himself dressed and carried over to the convent in an armchair. There he
took the ambrotype picture of her which is still extant, and then he was
carried home again to die a few days later.
The funeral took place on the 20th, and was attended by a vast concourse
of people from St. Louis, St. Charles, and all the country around.
Mother Hamilton, having still in view her future canonization, buried
her, not in the common cemetery, but quite near the church adjoining the
convent, and upon the slope of the low hill on which it stands. Some
time after the crowd had dispersed, a poor woman whom Mother Duchesne
had often assisted in many ways, came running to the house full of
joyful excitement. Her story was soon told. She had lingered weeping and
praying near the new-made grave, when suddenly she had thought of asking
Mother Duchesne to intercede for her, that she might be freed from an
inveterate and incurable malady that had been tormenting her for years.
No sooner had she uttered her petition than she was instantaneously and
completely cured. Many other cures and graces of various kinds similarly
obtained, contributed to confirm Mother Duchesne's reputation for heroic
sanctity, and to inspire confidence in her intercession.
Three years after her death, there was question of opening a street
through the convent grounds. This would have separated from the house
the spot where the holy religious was buried. Mother Jacquet, who was
then Superior, determined to remove the precious remains to a little
oratory to be built quite close to the entrance from the street in
front. When the grave was opened, the lid of the cedar coffin was found
to be in a decayed condition, and the coffin itself was full of mud and
water; but the body was so perfectly preserved that every feature was
recognizable, and an ambrotype could again be taken, October 23, 1855.
This first exhumation was rendered more memorable by a signal
occurrence, which caused a great sensation in the general public. This
was the cure of a Mrs. Anne King, who was suffering from a cancer that
had already eaten away a considerable part of her face. The application
of a relic of Mother Duchesne caused it to disappear completely, leaving
her face in its natural condition. Mrs. King was from Portage des Sioux,
a village thirteen miles from St. Charles, and the story of her
wonderful cure is one of the traditions connected with the name of the
holy Mother.
Twenty years later, the little oratory needed repairs, and it was
thought advisable to ascertain the condition of the remains. This time,
nothing was found but a considerable part of the bones, and a quantity
of ashes. These were transferred with all the ceremonies appointed by
the Church for such occasions, to an iron coffer, about a yard in
length, which was placed in the vault under the floor of the oratory,
June 13, 1876.
The third exhumation took place on January 28, 1896, on the occasion of
the canonical authentication of the remains, which was to close the
Ordinary Process, begun in St. Louis, in May, 1895. They were found just
as they were when placed in the iron coffer twenty years previously,
except that the latter was full to the brim of water as pure as if it
had been distilled. This water was drained off and carefully kept; and
by the use of it several cures were obtained, one of them a case of
tuberculosis in its last stage. After the ceremony, the remains were
restored to their resting place as before. A fourth exhumation will take
place at the close of the Apostolic Process begun at Rome in April of
1911.
By the approbation of the Ordinary Process, and the regular introduction
of her cause, December 8, 1909, Mother Duchesne became entitled to the
appellation of the Venerable Servant of God, Philippine Duchesne.
A few words before closing, concerning the work of Venerable Mother
Duchesne. We have seen that she had personally founded six houses, three
in Missouri and three in Louisiana, and also that the mission among the
Pottowatomies, was due in a great measure to her prayers and exertions.
Just at the time of this last foundation, the Society of the Sacred
Heart entered upon a period of rapid expansion, and when the venerable
Mother died, ten years later, it already counted sixteen houses in the
United States and Canada; while now, there are twenty-seven in the
former country, and five in the latter. But the great tree, of which
Mother Duchesne was the vigorous root, spread its branches still
further. For she it was who had enkindled the sacred fire of the
apostolic spirit in the heart of Mother du Rousier who, in the designs
of God, was to be the pioneer of the Sacred Heart in the vast regions of
South America.