A chair is usually a rather ordinary object. But what if you learned, for example, that it was the chair on which the Mona Lisa sat? On a less da Vinci-esque level, the Centre Marie-Rose has such a piece of furniture of great heritage value.
The Congregation’s archives contain the only canvas ever painted by Mother Marie-Rose, who had always refused to pose in this way. It was at the request of Mgr Bourget himself that she finally agreed – even though she was gravely ill. The work was created by the artist Théophile Hamel.
The Blessed appears weak and rather pale (the nuns even had to hold her down to prevent her collapsing to the ground). We see her seated on a rocking chair, which she used extensively during her lifetime.
While you can’t see the portrait itself during a visit to the Center, you can still admire the famous chair that rocked Mother Marie-Rose practically until her death in October 1849 – just a short time after it was immortalized in paint.