The Round House ~ St. Charles, Missouri

It was just a week ago that the AASH 2011-2013 Board met in St. Charles, Missouri.   By Friday morning all of the board members had arrived and we had a very full agenda and day. After a good night’s rest we scheduled time on Saturday to tour our surroundings.  Saturday morning our day started with breakfast and then we gathered for a brief reflection and prayer inside the Round House with Sr. Margaret Munch, RSCJ.  I read an entry dated June 25, 1821 from a book entitled, 

“Through the Year with Philippine Duchesne” 

1957 Conference of the AASH

St. Charles, City House, Maryville, Villa Duchesne

Saint Louis, Missouri

The following is what has been printed for July 2, 1838 - Philippine Duchesne wrote to St. Madeleine Sophie: “I am ready for whatever you may decide.  I long for retirement and rest, but I should not want inactivity that would expose me to the danger of napping all the time.  Although I am about to begin my seventieth year, I give the morning call; make the last visit at night, care for the garden, pantry, linen room, and watch by the sick.  I cannot teach English, so the material employments fall to me.”

Sr. Margaret Munch, RSCJ and Alice Burns, AASH Vice President

Sr. Margaret Much, RSCJ continued to tell us the story of the Round House and the early days of Philippine’s arrival to America.   Inside the Round House on the wall is a placard that reads:

"This little shrine, actually octagonal in shape, was built in the early 1850s to honor Our Lady of the Pillar (in thanksgiving for preservation from a fire that threatened to take the convent). When Mother Duchesne's body -- three years in the grave --was exhumed and found to be miraculously intact, it was removed and laid to rest in this structure. Through the years, the floor construction evolved to its present state. The inscribed marble plate that covers the tomb was added in 1911 and later modified to cite the Beatification in 1940. In 1951 the Beata's remains were removed to be placed in the large Shrine on this property. The "Round House" was abandoned then but never ceased to be a cherished landmark on this campus. We are grateful to the many who have contributed to its restoration efforts, which were completed in 1994."

Inside the Round House