Married to Jean-Baptiste Gamelin in 1823, Emilie Tavernier Gamelin had the pain of losing her first two children in their infancy after only a few months; then her husband died on October 1, 1827. She found comfort in prayer and charitable works. In 1828, she was again tested with the death of her last child. Infinitely sad, Emilie accepted this new mourning with faith and shared her sorrow with her spiritual director. The priest gave Emilie a picture of Mary at the foot of the Cross of her son Jesus. He invited her to pray and reflect. Emilie asserted: “I only found consolation in prayer and the contemplation of the Sorrows of Mary.”
In her journey, Emilie Gamelin began by praying to the Virgin, who saw the suffering of her Son. Emilie understood that praying to Our Mother of Sorrows was, and still is, a way to lead us to Jesus, by accepting our own suffering. Emilie resisted the temptation of self-pity; she chose instead to join her sorrows with those of Jesus. Her forgetfulness of self enabled her to turn to others and be nourished by her devotion to Our Mother of Sorrows in order to find the strength to act and alleviate all sorts of human misery. This is where the Charism of the Sisters of Providence takes its source: in “the manifestation of the mysteries of the Providence of God and Our Mother of Sorrows in compassionate love and creative prophetic solidarity with the poor.”