Marian Shrines and Devotions

"We had to rethink our presence here": As Lourdes slowly recovers from the pandemic and pilgrims come back to pray, the world-famous Marian sanctuary is taking away experiences in bringing Lourdes to the world.

Hundreds of sisters from various congregations in Vietnam volunteered to provide material and emotional support for tens of thousands of pilgrims at a Marian shrine.

Marian Days started in 1978 to evangelize Vietnamese living in the Carthage, Missouri, area. Before the pandemic, it drew about 70,000 people to events that reconnect Vietnamese to their faith and culture.

Professor Matthieu Brejon de Lavergnée teaches at DePaul University in Chicago. He is the author of The Streets as a Cloister: History of the Daughters of Charity, which gives a lively account of the first two centuries of existence of this original community; a second volume covering the 19th and 20th centuries, is coming out in English in 2021 or 2022.

Under COVID-19 lockdown, Srs. Sokny Nheb and Hill Pen say they miss their normal ministries — like teaching catechism, holding singing practice, visiting and teaching basic life skills to village children in Stung Treng.

A civil engineer built — for free — a new, two-story retreat house for a community of Carmelite nuns in the southern Philippines. The house has multiple guest rooms and serves as a new income stream.