Théodore Guérin

Mother Theodore Guerin SP
Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Province	Sisters of Providence
Metropolis	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Diocese	Diocese of Vincennes (now the Archdiocese of Indianapolis)
Enthroned	1840
Reign ended	1856
Successor	Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly
Personal details
Birth name	Anne-Thérèse Guérin
Born	October 2, 1798(1798-10-02) Étables-sur-Mer, France
Died	May 14, 1856(1856-05-14) (aged 57) Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, United States
Buried	Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Nationality	France
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Laurent Guérin and Isabelle Lefèvre
Signature

Saint Mother Théodore Guérin (1798 - 1856), designated by the Vatican as Saint Theodora, is the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, a congregation of Catholic nuns. After a standard process of approval within the church often referred to as a "cause for sainthood," she was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1998 and finally canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church on October 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI.

Guerin is particularly known for her advancement of education in Indiana and elsewhere, founding numerous schools including Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Early life

She was born Anne-Thérèse Guérin on October 2, 1798, in the village of Étables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France. Her parents were Laurent Guerin, an officer in the French Navy under Napoleon Bonaparte, and Isabelle Lefèvre Guérin. Anne-Thérèse was born near the end of the French Revolution, which had torn France apart and caused a crisis within French Catholicism. Schools and churches were closed, and many Catholic priests had chosen exile over the guillotine.^[1]

Laurent and Isabelle had four children, but only two — Anne-Thérèse and Marie-Jeanne — survived to adulthood. Anne-Thérèse was mostly educated at home by her mother. At the age of 10, she was allowed to take her First Communion, which was two years earlier than the custom of the time. On the day of her First Communion, she confided to the priest in Etables that she wished to enter a religious community.

When Anne-Thérèse was 15, tragedy struck the family when her father was killed by bandits as he travelled home to his family. The grief proved to be too much for her mother, who already had lost two children, and she fell into a deep and incapacitating depression. For many years, Anne-Thérèse accepted the responsibility of caring for her mother and sister, as well as the family's home and garden. At the age of 20, Anne-Thérèse asked her mother's blessing to join a religious order, but Isabelle — still unable to cope with her loss — refused. Five years later, Isabelle recognized the depth of Anne-Thérèse's devotion and permitted her to leave.^[1]

Entering religious life

Anne-Thérèse entered the young congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir. She was given the religious name Sister St. Théodore. She professed first vows September 8, 1825, and perpetual vows, which at the time were optional, on September 5, 1831.

Sister St. Théodore was first sent to teach at Preuilly-sur-Claise in central France. There, she became ill, most likely with smallpox, and nearly died. The illness damaged her digestive system and, for the rest of her life, she could only eat a simple, bland diet.^[2]

During her career in France, Sister St. Théodore also taught at St. Aubin parish school in Rennes and taught and visited the sick and poor in Soulaines in the Diocese of Angers. During this time, she received a medal for her teaching from the inspector for the Academy of Angers.^[3]

From France to Indiana

A request from Vincennes

In 1839 the Most Reverend Simon William Gabriel Bruté, the first bishop of the vast Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, sent Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière as a representative to their native France. Bruté was in search of a religious congregation to come to the diocese and teach, provide religious instruction, and assist the sick. With only a few priests and a great influx of Catholic immigrants of French, Irish and German descent, the diocese was in need of assistance. Bruté knew the great assistance a religious order could provide, having worked with Mother St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and her Sisters of Charity during the founding and early years of Mount Saint Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.^[1]

While Hailandière was in France, Bishop Bruté died in Vincennes, and Hailandière was then consecrated bishop of the diocese. One of the first acts of the newly ordained bishop was to request the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir to send a group of sisters to minister in Vincennes.

The superior general of the Sisters of Providence suggested Sister St. Théodore for the task. Although she was unsure of her own abilities to complete such a mission at first, after considerable discernment, Sister St. Théodore agreed. Later she said that it was a sentence from the Rule of the Congregation, "The Congregation being obliged to work with zeal for the sanctification of souls, the sisters will be disposed to go to whatsoever part of the world obedience calls them," that convinced her to answer the American call.

Founding a new order in Indiana

In July 1840, Sister St. Théodore and five companions (Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Sénéschal, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin) departed from France to sail to America. After a treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the six women traveled by steamboat and stagecoach to the dense forest of the Indiana territory.^[4]

On October 22, 1840, Sister St. Théodore and her companions stepped from a carriage into the wilds Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, a small village in Vigo County a few miles northwest of Terre Haute. For several months, they lived packed into the small frontier farmhouse of the local Thralls family along with a few postulants that had been waiting for them when they arrived. With the founding of this new order separate from that in France, Guerin became known as Mother Theodore, the superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.^[5]

Life work

One final resting place of Mother Theodore in the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery.

Education

Despite their humble resources, in July 1841 Guerin and the sisters opened St. Mary's Academy for Young Ladies, which later became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Guerin did have doubts concerning the success of the institution. In her journals is written, "It is astonishing that this remote solitude has been chosen for a novitiate and especially for an academy. All appearances are against it."^[6] For more than a decade, from 1841 to 1852, this Academy was the only Catholic boarding school for girls in Indiana.

In an attempt to help parishes establish schools for their children, Mother Théodore, from the time of her arrival at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840 to January 1849, established parish schools at Jasper, St. Peter's, Vincennes, Madison, Fort Wayne and Terre Haute, all in Indiana, and at St. Francisville in Illinois. In 1853, she opened establishments in Evansville, Indiana and North Madison, Indiana; in 1854, at Lanesville, Indiana; and in 1855 at Columbus, Indiana, south of Indianapolis.

Additionally, with Bishop de Saint-Palais, she established two orphanages in Vincennes.

Growth of the congregation

Guerin proved to be a skilled businesswoman and leader as well as a beloved general superior. By the time of Mother Théodore's death in 1856, the Sisters of Providence congregation had grown from six sisters and four postulants to 67 professed members, nine novices and seven postulants.

Death of Mother Theodore

After a period of sickness, Guerin died at age 57 on May 14, 1856. The Catholic Telegraph and Advocate in Cincinnati, published the following notice about Mother Théodore's death.

Died - At Saint Mary's-of-the-Woods (sic), in the 58th year of her age, Wednesday, 14th inst., Sister St. Théodore, Superior General of the Sisters of Providence in Indiana.

This woman, distinguished by her eminent virtues, governed the community of which she was the superior from its commencement, to the time of her death, a period of nearly sixteen years. Being a perfect religious herself, and endowed with mental qualities of a high order, she was peculiarly fitted to fill the duties which Providence assigned her.

Not only her Sisters are bereaved by her death, but all those who knew her excellence and the amount of good she did, join in lamenting that she should have been removed from the sphere of her usefulness. To judge from the celestial expression of her countenance as she lay in death, there is every reason to believe that she has already taken her abode among the Saints in Heaven, enjoying the munificence of God, who rewards His servants 'according to their works.'

Saint Theodora Guerin
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	October 1998, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	October 15, 2006, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrine	Church of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Feast	October 3
Patronage	Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

Veneration

Cause for sainthood

The Cause for the beatification and canonization of Mother Théodore Guérin was opened in 1909.^[7] This long and thorough process of declaring saints in the Roman Catholic Church is a way to make the spiritual legacy of a person known universally. In October 1998, Pope John Paul II bestowed the title "Blessed" on Mother Théodore to signify that the Catholic Church recognizes her as a holy woman, through whose intercession a miracle occurred, worthy of honor and veneration. Pope Benedict XVI later signed a document recognizing a second miracle attributed to her, and her canonization ceremony was held on October 15, 2006.^[8]

Miracles attributed to Guerin

The first miracle attributed to Guérin is said to have occurred in 1908. Before going to bed, Sister of Providence Mary Theodosia Mug prayed at Guérin's tomb to be healed of her damaged nerves, poor eyesight, breast cancer and an abdominal tumor. When she awoke the next day, Sister Mary Theodosia was healed.^[9]

The second of the miracles attributed to her involves Phil McCord of Terre Haute, Indiana, and occurred in January of 2001.^[10] McCord, who had worked in facilities management for the Sisters of Providence, stopped by the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the grounds and was drawn in by music from the pipe organ there. While in the church he felt compelled to pray to Guérin, asking for strength to undergo a medical operation for his failing eyesight,^[11] as his eyes had deteriorated to legally blind status: 20-800 in one eye and 20-1000 in the other. After praying, he went home. When he awoke the next morning, his vision had returned to 20-20, and his eye now needed only laser treatment to remove old tissue.^[10]

National Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

The national shrine for Saint Theodora is currently in the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. This shrine includes her coffin, made of walnut wood from the Sisters of Providence grounds.^[12] The Sisters of Providence maintain various relics of her life in their congregation archives as well as in a Heritage Museum in Providence Center on the grounds. A statue is placed in Mary's Garden of her created by artist Teresa Clark.

Legacy

Congregation

Main article: Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

More than 5,200 women have entered the Sisters of Providence since 1840.^[13] As of 2010, there are nearly 400 sisters in the order, roughly 300 of whom live and minister from the motherhouse grounds in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Other sisters minister in 19 U.S. states and Asia. (Currently, foreign missions are in Taiwan and China.)^[14]

Schools

• Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
• Guerin College Preparatory High School
• St. Theodore Guerin High School

Patronage

Saint Mother Theodore has been named patron of:

• Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana
• The Knights of Columbus of Indianapolis, Indiana

See also

• Roman Catholicism in the United States#American Catholic Servants of God, Venerables, Beatified, and Saints
• Saint Mother Théodore Guérin sculpture at the Shrine.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Brown, Mary Borromeo (1949). History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: Volume I. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Benziger Brothers Inc.. 
2. ^ Vatican News Service (October 15, 2006). Théodore Guérin (1798-1856). Rome. http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20061015_guerin_en.html. Retrieved October 29, 2009. 
3. ^ Mug, Mary Theodosia (1904). Life and Life-Work of Mother Theodore Guerin. New York: Benzinger Bros.. 
4. ^ Mitchell, Penny Blaker (1998). Mother Théodore Guérin: A Woman for Our Time. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence. 
5. ^ Burton, Catherine; Mary K. Doyle (forward and afterword) (2006). The Eighth American Saint: The Life of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Skokie, Illinois: ACTA Publications. 
6. ^ Guérin, Théodore; Mary Theodosia Mug, ed. (1937). Journals and Letters of Mother Théodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence. 
7. ^ Ryan, Joseph Eleanor (1987). Positio Super Virtutibus for the Beatification and Canonization of Mother Théodore Guérin. Rome. 
8. ^ "Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin ready for sainthood". Tribstar.com. http://www.tribstar.com/homepage/local_story_182230303.html. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 
9. ^ Letter to Mother Mary Cleophas located in the Archives, St. Mary of the Woods, dated, November 21, 1908. Quoted in Madden 1991, pp. 411-413
10. ^ ^{a b} Carroll, Jason (December 22, 2006). "Miracle of 'blind' man who can see". CNN (St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana). http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/us/2006/12/21/carroll.blind.man.sees.cnn. Retrieved October 29, 2009. 
11. ^ Bennett, Mark (October 15, 2006). "In Rome, Indiana pilgrims gather at vigil on eve of canonization". Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana) (Rome: CNHI News Service). http://www.news-tribune.net/religion/local_story_288123442.html. Retrieved October 29, 2009. 
12. ^ Foulkes, Arthur (October 4, 2006). "Mother Theodore Guerin's remains moved to place of honor". The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Indiana). http://tribstar.com/local/x681789147/Mother-Theodore-Guerins-remains-moved-to-place-of-honor. Retrieved May 28, 2010. 
13. ^ "Sisters of Providence Media Kit". Spsmw.org. http://www.spsmw.org/SistersofProvidence/News/SaintMotherTheodoreGuerinMediaKit/tabid/1456/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 
14. ^ "About the Sisters of Providence". Spsmw.org. http://www.spsmw.org/SistersofProvidence/Aboutus/tabid/816/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-05-28. 

External links

• Saint Mother Theodore website
• The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
• News and an in depth look at Mother Théodore From the Tribune-Star in Terre Haute, Indiana.
• Théodore Guérin Biography at Patron Saint Index
• How to pronounce Théodore Guérin

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by	General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 1840 - 1856	Succeeded by Mary Cecilia Bailly, SP
Educational offices
Preceded by	President of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College 1841 - 1856	Succeeded by Mary Cecilia Bailly, SP