November 30
November 30
St. Mother Theodore Guerin
(Foundress of The Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of –the-Woods)
Anne-Thérèse Guerin was born into a sea-faring family Oct. 2, 1798, in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France. Her desire to be close to God began when she was a young child. She was allowed to receive her First Communion at the age of 10 and, at that time, told the parish priest that someday she would dedicate herself to God and to God’s work. Less than two months before her 25th birthday on August 18, 1823, Anne-Thérèse entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, a young community of women religious who served as teachers and cared for the sick poor. As a religious, she was known as Sister St. Theodore.
Due to the devastating after effects of the French Revolution, women religious were needed in the mission field. Sister St. Theodore was one of many postulants who received the religious dress and was sent out on mission.
In January 1825, Sister St. Theodore was sent to teach at Preuilly-sur-Claise in a school of the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé. On Sept. 6, 1825, she canonically received the habit and on Sept. 8 pronounced first vows. She then returned to Preuilly to complete the academic year. On July 12, 1840, Sister St. Theodore and five other Sisters of Providence of Ruillé — Sister St. Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Seneschal, Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin — left France for a journey to the unknown. The six women religious left Le Havre, along the Normandy coast, July 27 on the Cincinnati, bound for the United States and a Providence journey. They arrived in New York Harbor on Sept. 4, 1840.
Mother Theodore (as she became known) and her sister companions faced a daunting task, but trusting in the Providence of God, they set out on the mission before them. Realizing the great need for religious instruction and education, the sisters opened an academy for girls on July 4, 1841.
By 1842, Sisters of Providence schools were established in Jasper, Indiana, and St. Francisville, Illinois. By the time of Mother Theodore's death on May 14, 1856, the Sisters of Providence were running the schools at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and Jasper plus these other schools in Indiana: Vincennes, St. Peter's (now Montgomery), Madison, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Evansville, North Madison, Lanesville and Columbus. Mother Theodore also opened two orphanages - one for girls and one for boys - in Vincennes. Additionally, the Congregation had grown from six sisters and four postulants to 67 professed members, nine novices and seven postulants.
Mother Theodore Guerin led an extraordinary life before her death May 14, 1856, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was canonized October 16, 2006.
(Passage taken from and adapted: Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods
http://www.spsmw.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?3208&dwContent_contentID=274 )
If you have enjoyed reading the Saint of the Day during the month of November, I invite you to check out the main source I used in compiling these passages. Robert Ellsberg's book, All Saints, Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, provides a daily passage about men and women who have lead extraordinary lives of faith in the ordinariness of their daily lives. If you are looking for a good reflection book for the new year or just a way to grow in knowledge about some amazing individuals…this would be an excellent book!
Ellsberg, Robert. All Saints, Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005.
St. Mother Theodore Guerin
(Foundress of The Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of –the-Woods)
Anne-Thérèse Guerin was born into a sea-faring family Oct. 2, 1798, in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France. Her desire to be close to God began when she was a young child. She was allowed to receive her First Communion at the age of 10 and, at that time, told the parish priest that someday she would dedicate herself to God and to God’s work. Less than two months before her 25th birthday on August 18, 1823, Anne-Thérèse entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, a young community of women religious who served as teachers and cared for the sick poor. As a religious, she was known as Sister St. Theodore.
Due to the devastating after effects of the French Revolution, women religious were needed in the mission field. Sister St. Theodore was one of many postulants who received the religious dress and was sent out on mission.
In January 1825, Sister St. Theodore was sent to teach at Preuilly-sur-Claise in a school of the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé. On Sept. 6, 1825, she canonically received the habit and on Sept. 8 pronounced first vows. She then returned to Preuilly to complete the academic year. On July 12, 1840, Sister St. Theodore and five other Sisters of Providence of Ruillé — Sister St. Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Seneschal, Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin — left France for a journey to the unknown. The six women religious left Le Havre, along the Normandy coast, July 27 on the Cincinnati, bound for the United States and a Providence journey. They arrived in New York Harbor on Sept. 4, 1840.
Mother Theodore (as she became known) and her sister companions faced a daunting task, but trusting in the Providence of God, they set out on the mission before them. Realizing the great need for religious instruction and education, the sisters opened an academy for girls on July 4, 1841.
By 1842, Sisters of Providence schools were established in Jasper, Indiana, and St. Francisville, Illinois. By the time of Mother Theodore's death on May 14, 1856, the Sisters of Providence were running the schools at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and Jasper plus these other schools in Indiana: Vincennes, St. Peter's (now Montgomery), Madison, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Evansville, North Madison, Lanesville and Columbus. Mother Theodore also opened two orphanages - one for girls and one for boys - in Vincennes. Additionally, the Congregation had grown from six sisters and four postulants to 67 professed members, nine novices and seven postulants.
Mother Theodore Guerin led an extraordinary life before her death May 14, 1856, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was canonized October 16, 2006.
(Passage taken from and adapted: Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods
http://www.spsmw.org/cgi-bin/site.pl?3208&dwContent_contentID=274 )
If you have enjoyed reading the Saint of the Day during the month of November, I invite you to check out the main source I used in compiling these passages. Robert Ellsberg's book, All Saints, Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, provides a daily passage about men and women who have lead extraordinary lives of faith in the ordinariness of their daily lives. If you are looking for a good reflection book for the new year or just a way to grow in knowledge about some amazing individuals…this would be an excellent book!
Ellsberg, Robert. All Saints, Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2005.
posted by Erin at 10:25 PM
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