Sisters of Providence Foundation Day is Oct. 22

Mother Theodore used to tell that when she saw the place they were coming to (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana), her strength failed her, and it was with difficulty she was able to walk down the ravine, cross the little stream below on a log, and come up to the rude habitation to which they were conducted.

Such was that first Oct. 22, 1840, Foundation Day.

Fortunately for all who stand on the shoulders of this valiant woman, she pressed on, she did not turn back.

She would say to her sisters many years later, “Perfect abandonment of ourselves in all things for the future requires great courage and we ought to aspire to it.”

The drawing here is of the Thralls farmhouse that served as the first convent for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840. (Drawing by Sister Mary Emmanuel Rinke from water color picture made in 1842 by Sister St.Francis le Fer de la Motte.)

Interested in reading more? Landing on U.S. soil takes you back to that day.