Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: A torchbearer!

Sister Ann Casper as Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

Look for Saint Mother Theodore Guerin among the 2,200-plus torchbearers who will be part of the 2016 Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay!

Saint Mother Theodore (posthumously portrayed by Sister Ann Casper) will join 21 other persons who were nominated to represent Vigo County in the relay. The Torch Relay will travel up the Wabash River via hovercraft from Sullivan County to begin the Vigo County segment of the relay, which will take place at approximately 5 p.m., on Sept. 21, at Fairbanks Park.

“I have been to the local and regional training and information sessions,” Sister Ann said, “and learned important aspects about handling the torch. The torch weighs about 3.5 pounds, so I am sure I’ll be handling it with both hands, remembering that there is a good-sized flame at the top.”

The 21st century torch was designed by a team of Purdue University engineering students, staff and faculty.

“I find some of its features fascinating,” Sister Ann said, “like the installed GPS for high accuracy and near-real time positioning and tracking. Also, parts of the design are an HD camera for photos and videos connected to social media. The torchbearer operates the button, one click for photos and a two-second hold on the button to start a 30-second video.

“Who knows, Mother Theodore may even take her first selfie!”

The design of the torch also includes rich symbolism. The upper ring of stars symbolizes the 13 original states (1787-1790). Five stars around the lower ring represent the next five states (1791-1812), and the star directly on the top represents the state of Indiana as the 19th state in 1816.

The torch relay will take 37 days and will cover 3,200-plus miles through the 92 counties in Indiana. The relay begins on Sept. 9, in Corydon, and ends on Oct. 15, 2016, with a concluding event in Indianapolis. In the course of the days, the torch relay runners, walkers and vehicles will visit 260 cities and towns, 17 national and state parks, nine lakes and rivers, 27 national, state and local sites of historic significance and 27 colleges and universities.

To follow the torchbearer routes and view photos and videos, download the Torch Relay Mobile App in the app store of your Apple or Android device.

The culminating event of the Torch Relay will be Hoosier Homecoming in Indianapolis, from noon to 4:30 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 15. All Hoosiers are invited to celebrate Indiana’s 200th birthday at the Indiana Statehouse Campus Grounds for a free, family fun and learning day!

Visit www.in.gov/ibc for more information.