An unpublished note from Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

If you’ve read “Journals and Letters of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin,” you know there’s a lot to love there. Wit, strength, history, guidance, inspiration and more. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin comes alive in her writing. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let the fear of boredom put you off. I promise it’s worth the read. You can find it at Linden Leaf Gifts or buy the e-book here.)

But did you know there’s more from Saint Mother Theodore? The Archives department for the Sisters of Providence has several of Saint Mother Theodore’s letters that were not included in Journals and Letters. Over the next months, we’d like to share some of these with you.

This first one is more of a note than a letter. Mother Theodore wrote it on the margin of a letter that her niece was mailing to France. (Did you know that Saint Mother Theodore had a niece who entered the Sisters of Providence in France and ended up traveling to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1854 to join her aunt in mission? How cool is that! You can read about Sister Mary Theodore here.)

I love the teasing nature the letter reveals and the fun of a childhood memory. What do you like about it?

Enjoy!

St. Mary of the Woods
November 8, 1855

Sister Francis Regis,

A thousand greetings to our Sisters! Good day to you, my good Aunt “Fanchon.” You do not yet know how to write since you have not written me a word in fifteen years. That is very naughty of you and you ought to be ashamed. In spite of that I have not forgotten you at all. I remember your “tricks” when I used to see you nearly forty years ago playing and running the roads like a little street urchin. I recall, too, the pleasure you gave me while we were so happy in our old house on High Street.

I pray for you; often pray for the one who has not much longer to live.

Your friend,

Sister St. Theodore