St. Theodora Guérin: A saint for Indiana and a role model for educators

A marble statue of St. Theodora Guérin, the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, stands outside of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The statue was sculpted by Teresa Clark of Terre Haute and carved by Nicholas Fairplay of Oberlin, Ohio. The statue will be dedicated on May 10. (Photo by Melissa Scarlett)

Anne-Thérèse Guérin was born on Oct. 2, 1798, in France.

She was 24 when she entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, a community that served as teachers and cared for the sick and poor.

The young sister was asked to lead a small missionary band of sisters to America to establish a motherhouse in the frontier Diocese of Vincennes in western Indiana.

Mother Theodore and five sisters arrived at their mission, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, on Oct. 22, 1840.

Mother Theodore would establish a motherhouse, an academy (now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College), Catholic schools and a legacy of love, mercy and justice that continues to this day.

She urged her Sisters of Providence to: “Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence.”

By the time of her death on May 14, 1856, Mother Theodore had opened schools in towns throughout Indiana and Illinois, and the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence was strong, viable and respected.

She was beatified in 1998 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 15, 2006, in a Vatican ceremony witnessed by hundreds of Hoosier Catholics.

St. Theodora is interred in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods near Terre Haute, Ind. †

The Criterion

March 21, 2008

NCEA Convention

St. Theodora Guérin: A saint for Indiana and a role model for educators

Local site Links: