A Reflection for the 2026 Foundation Day
Note: The following is a reflection offered by General Superior Sister Jeanne Hagelskamp, Chief Administrative Officer/Chief Financial Officer John Harvey, Human Resourcess Director Mary Wheeler and Mission Advancement Executive Director Hillary Person as part of the liturgy for the October 22, 2026 Foundation Day.
Sister Jeanne Hagelskamp
186 years ago, Mother Theodore Guerin, Sister St. Vincent Ferrer, Sister Basilide Senechal, Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée, and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin left France on July 12, 1840, and arrived in New York on September 4 … only to find that the person who was to meet them had not yet made it to New York. It would take another 48 days for them to arrive at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
Thankfully, along the way, countless women and men, religious and lay, came to their aid to help them on their journey. While on the ship, they were cared for by Dr. Doane, who provided food for them and made connections with Father Varela, the vicar general of the Bishop of New York, who cared for them in the absence of Father de la Hailandiere’s representative; and dear Mrs. Parmentier, who received them “as angels from heaven.”
And, of course, there was Mr. Bylerley, who took care of getting their luggage from the ship to Vincennes and who continued to provide for them, even after their arrival at the Woods. And the list goes on and on.
Through the 186 years of our Congregation, we have continued to depend on countless men and women to assist us – on the farm, in the coal mines, in our many ministries.
And, through the years, those words of Jeremiah continue to play out in our lives. “Surely I know the plans I have for you, says our God, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future filled with hope.”
Like Dr. Doane, Father Varela, Mrs. Parmentier, and Mr. Byerley, they have given their all to ensuring that the mission of the Sisters of Providence is thriving. They have become our companions on the journey!
Today, I have asked three of our current faithful companions to tell you what the legacy of Mother Theodore and the Sisters of Providence means to them.
You have heard John Harvey, our CFO and COO, talk about finances; today, you will hear him talk very differently! Then you will hear from Mary Wheeler, our director of Human Resources, who is responsible for helping us to hire staff who align with our mission and values. And you have met Hillary Person, our Executive Director of Mission Advancement, who, with her staff, raise the monies needed for us to continue to sustain the mission. She will follow Mary and share her thoughts about the legacy of Mother Theodore and her companions.
John Harvey
Providence … If I had a dollar for each time I have heard that word over the last five years I would be wealthy man. I have always believed in ‘God’s Will.’ However, if you know me, you know that I am extremely “Type A” so I have always coupled God’s Will with a heavy dose of individual ‘free will.’ You know … The Lord helps those who help themselves (which by the way, is not in the Bible).
It is quite amazing how a place like The Woods can slowly change or maybe more accurately “grow” a person. Over the last five years I have learned to slow down (a bit …) and I attempt (not always successfully) to enjoy the trip on the way to
the destination. In fact, I have come to believe that our life on earth is exactly that … a trip (or maybe a test) on the way to our final destination. We can’t always control what happens to us (as much as I would like to think we can or sometimes try to do nonetheless) but we can control ‘how’ we respond to what happens and I think that is the purpose of the test.
I don’t pretend to know ‘why bad things happen.’ But I know when something does happen I try to slow down and think through ‘how am I going to respond to this’. Am I going to honor God? Sometimes, what we think is ‘good’ for us may be not so good and what we think is ‘bad’ for us might actually be a blessing …
So, since we can’t control what happens, maybe we need to take a breath and see events as simply that – events that take place. We shouldn’t get too excited if we initially think it is good nor should we get too depressed if we initially think it is bad.
A few months ago, I heard a Chinese folk story that illustrated this point…
An old farmer lived in a village with his son and a single horse – his only means of earning a living. One day, the horse ran away. The neighbors came to express their sympathy saying “How unfortunate for you.” The farmer replied “Who is to say what is unfortunate.”
A few days later, the horse returned and brought seven wild horses with it. The neighbors rushed back to celebrate his good luck saying “How fortunate you are!” The farmer replied “who is to say what is fortunate.”
The following day, the farmer’s son tried to tame one of the wild horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors lamented the bad news saying “How terribly unfortunate for you.” The farmer replied “Who is to say what is unfortunate.”
About a week later, military officers arrived in the village to draft young men into a bloody war (the kind young men don’t return from) but they rejected the farmer’s son because of his broken leg. The neighbors rejoiced for him saying “How truly fortunate for you!” The farmer simply replied “Who is to say what is fortunate.”
When I heard this story I immediately thought of Providence and The Woods … God is in control. How am I going to respond to life’s tests?
Mary Wheeler
When I think about what it means to be part of the Sisters of Providence, I keep coming back to one simple word: yes.
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and her companions said yes to a calling bigger than themselves. They left what was familiar, stepped into an uncertain future, and trusted in Providence. They didn’t know all that would grow from their decision. They simply said yes and began the work. Mother Theodore reminded us, “We cannot do our work if we all stay in the nest.”
I believe that message still speaks to each of us today. We all have different gifts,
responsibilities, and ways of serving. Some of our work is visible, while much happens quietly behind the scenes. Every contribution matters because each helps carry this mission forward.
And we are especially grateful for our Sisters, including those who are retired. Their years of dedication, their wisdom, their prayers, and their continued care for one another remind us that this mission is not defined by a job or a title. It is a lifelong commitment to service and to one another.
As HR Director, I see saying yes in the people we welcome into this community. Each new employee becomes part of a legacy that began long before us and will continue long after us. Mother Theodore once wrote, “Let us hope that the few seeds sown may not remain unproductive of fruit.” We may never see the full impact of the seeds we plant, but we can trust that our everyday acts of service, kindness, and care make a difference.
So, on this Foundress Day, let us honor the Sisters who came before us, celebrate the Sisters who continue to inspire us, and embrace our own call to serve.
Let us say yes — to the work, to one another, and to the future of this mission.
Because the legacy we honor today is the legacy we are called to carry forward tomorrow and what someone else will inherit tomorrow.
And I think that is a beautiful legacy — and a privilege — to be part of.
Hillary Person
When Sister Jeanne asked me to reflect on the legacy that SMTG and her companions have left us, my work brain went straight to the literal construction meaning of foundation and how, at the last Donor Dinner, we honored the generosity of a construction company that actually builds foundations.
The company’s name is Cantsink. As in ‘cannot sink’. But after I slowed my mind down a bit, I thought of the foundation Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount, the wise and foolish builders: one building on sand, the other on rock; one only hearing Jesus’s words and the other putting them into action. And it’s clear, SMTG and her companions built a legacy here on ROCK. From the beginning, they put Jesus’s words into action, all of it based in love.
The kind of love Jesus asks of all of us. Mother Theodore built her legacy through acts of love by teaching children, caring for orphans and treating the sick poor despite acts of arson and bigotry against both her and the congregation. Yet, because she loved, she was able to forgive even those people who persecuted, betrayed and ridiculed her (149).
Today, this legacy continues with the same powerful, forgiving, enabling love (150). You see it through the sisters’ ministries in prayer, education, service, and advocacy. But it isn’t just off campus that we see this unsinkable love in action. I can speak from my own experience in Mission Advancement; in recent years, our office has had family deaths, serious illnesses, and other tragedies that, for each of us and collectively, have been heartbreaking. It has been the sisters’ rock-solid foundation that has kept us afloat and helped us along the journey. Love-filled.
I don’t know that our struggles to maintain SMTG legacy of love are any harder today than they were nearly 200 years ago. Loving your enemy will continue to be a struggle. I know it is for me. So, I’ll close with advice from our wise foundress that might help maintain this foundation of love: She advises us: “Charity does not consist in loving one or 2 persons and being indifferent to all.”
Sister Jeanne Hagelskamp
Thank you, John, for reminding us that when things don’t always go as we would hope, we can control ‘how’ we respond to what happens and that we should also be assured that Providence will care for us … or in Jesus’s words from Luke’s Gospel: “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? … Instead, seek God’s kingdom, and all that you need will be given to you as well.”
Thank you, Mary, for YOUR YES to being a companion on our journey. You have reminded us of the YES of Mother Theodore and her companions to a calling that was at best uncertain. And we have heard your challenge for us to give our continued yes – to the work, to one another, and to the future of this mission. Jeremiah assures us that our YES leaves us in good hands: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says our God, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
And finally, thank you, Hillary, for calling us to continue to live Mother Theodore’s legacy of love. Today’s words from St. Paul remind us as well to live that legacy among ourselves: “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart.”
All of us, sisters, staff, students, faculty, and friends have big shoes to fill, and John, Mary, and Hillary have given us some concrete advice for doing just that.
As we continue our celebration of our foundation 186 years ago, may the words of our dear Mother Theodore resound in our hearts and minds: “Grant, O my God, that all who dwell in this house may love thee much, may love one another, and may never forget why they came here.”
