The Perfect Patroness



Tony Oleck

Tony Oleck, a sophomore in Old College, gives this month's submission from our undergraduate seminary. It is a moving reflection on our community’s pastoral feast this past week – Our Lady of Sorrows.

Just over a week ago, the Holy Cross community celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This is always a special day for those of us in formation, as it allows us to experience the broader Holy Cross community and to enter into the spirituality of our founder, Blessed Basil Moreau. We Old Collegians prepared for September 15 in a variety of ways, including a nine-day novena dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. These preparations helped us to reflect on our own discernment, and on the role Our Lady played in the founding of the Congregation of Holy Cross.


Blessed Moreau chose Our Lady of Sorrows to be his community’s special patroness. Why did Moreau choose Our Lady of Sorrows, of all patronesses, to watch over and guide his fledgling community in 19th century France? While many might believe he had Notre Dame football in mind, I think there was a deeper motivation.

Blessed Basil Moreau

Growing up in the unstable years following the French Revolution, Blessed Moreau was no stranger to sorrow. As Fr. Tony Szakaly, C.S.C. preached at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on September 15, “Many priests and religious had been killed or exiled and ordinary people risked their lives if they dared to practice the faith. Basil Moreau gathered together a group of priests and brothers to bring hope to the country, by preaching and teaching the message of Christ.”

I think Fr. Moreau chose Our Lady of Sorrows for this very reason: it is in the midst of sorrow that hope is born. Our Lady of Sorrows is the paradoxical patroness, for in celebrating sorrow we find joy. It is because of these sorrows, not despite them, that we celebrate. Without the sorrows of Mary, we do not find ourselves at the foot of Calvary, listening to the words, “Son, behold your mother.” We do not have joy without first experiencing sorrow. There is no resurrection without the Cross.

What a remarkable thing that the salvation of all mankind was contingent upon the ‘yes’ of one woman; a woman who knew full well that there would be suffering involved. Yet she also knew that somehow, through her suffering and the suffering of our Lord, all of humanity would be given a reason to truly rejoice. Our Lady of Sorrows is also cause for reflection and celebration for those of us discerning a call to Holy Cross, as Our Lady of Sorrows is inseparable from the cross that is so central to the spirituality of Fr. Moreau’s community.