Friday, October 2, 2020

Ministered in the woods of Indiana

St. Mother Theodore Guerin

Image of St. Mother Theodore Guerin

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., has been called a visionary, a model of virtue, and a source of inspiration and hope. Hers is a story of strength and prayer; challenge and humility; sorrow and peace.

On Oct. 15, 2006, Mother Theodore Guerin was recognized as a saint by Pope Benedict XVI in a canonization ceremony at St. Peter's Square in Rome.

In 1998, the world came to know what Sisters of Providence have known for years. In October of that year, Pope John Paul II granted the title of "Blessed" to Mother Theodore, signifying that she is a holy woman worthy of honor and veneration.

Théodore Guérin (2 October 1798 – 14 May 1856), designated by the Vatican as Saint Theodora, and born Anne-Thérèse Guérin, was a French-American saint and the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a congregation of Catholic sisters at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Pope John Paul II beatified Guérin on 25 October 1998, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church on 15 October 2006. Guérin's feast day is 3 October, although some calendars list it in the Roman Martyrology as 14 May, her day of death.

Guérin immigrated to Indiana from France in 1840, and became known for her advancement of education, especially in Indiana and in eastern Illinois; founding numerous schools including Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana; and for her care of the orphaned, the sick, and the poor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana.


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