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Sisters of Providence

Content written by Sisters of Providence

Story

Sisters’ habits

An engineering degree was practically required in order to understand the 1960 instructions for the new caps and collars worn by the Sisters of Providence. The instructions read in part: “The cap should be worn just in front of the serre-tête facing and should fasten or rest about 1/8-inch from the edge of serre-tête on…

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Story

Election and inauguration reflections

After the 2008 election and the inauguration of President Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009, the Sisters of Providence were asked by the staff members of Archives to reflect on this event. The following are portions of their reflections. As you can see, the Sisters of Providence represent a cross section of the country. Click…

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Story

A niece remembers Saint Mother Theodore

The only surviving sibling of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was her sister, Marie Guerin-Le Touzé. Three of her daughters entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, and came to the United States to serve at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Only one of the women remained in the Congregation. M. Therese (born Feb. 9, 1827) entered the…

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Obituary

Sister Gertrude Marian Bauer

Reading from Psalm 100: All the Earth cry out to you with shouts of joy, O. God. Serving you with gladness; coming before you singing for joy. “Didn’t we, in our youthful years, come to this place to serve God with gladness and joy? I can see Marie Cecilia Bauer at age 15 coming through…

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Story

Conserving and digitizing a saint’s journal

One of the most cherished pieces of the Congregation’s history was conserved and digitized with the assistance of the Indiana Historical Society’s Historic Document Preservation Program and the Preservation Imaging Lab. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s journal, which is written in French, began with her arrival on Oct. 22, 1840. The journal ends shortly before her…

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Story

Sister Connie Kramer

For Sister Connie Kramer, “Gratitude is the memory of the heart.” She is very grateful that Saint Mother Theodore Guerin founded Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College since this is where Providence designed that she would meet the Sisters of Providence. In 1948, her oldest sister, Mary, came to the college as a freshman and, in the next…

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Obituary

Sister Serena Ziolkowski

“John testified to him and cried out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, ‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’” (John 1:27) These excerpts from the Gospel of John seem to sum up the way Sister Serena saw her life as a Sister of…

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Story

Providence Associates photo highlights 2008

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Story

Sister Charles Van Hoy helps children find success at EFS

To walk into Educational/Family Services in West Terre Haute on a Wednesday after school is to walk into a bustle of activity. It is a place to find masters at work. Volunteer tutors, mostly elderly Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, fill every available nook of the converted house, giving one-on-one tutoring to children. The…

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Obituary

Sister Agnes (Mary Thomas) Farrell

“I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upward to receive in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) “The person of Christ was the lodestone of St. Paul’s life; and pursuit of him was a constant toward which he raced. Sister Agnes Farrell might not have used Paul’s words, but for…

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Obituary

Sister Catherine Sienna Wire

“Be glad in the Creator, rejoice in Love Divine!” (from Jan C. Merrill’s “Psalms for Praying,” Psalm 149) “This Psalm seems to fit Sister Catherine Sienna very well. I’m sure she is now glad in her Creator, rejoicing in Love Divine and praising God with dancing,” said Sister Rita Clare Gerardot in her commentary for…

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Obituary

Sister Ann Michele Kiefer

Sister Ann Michele Kiefer died Sept. 30, 2008, and her Mass of Christian Burial was Oct. 2 with the Rev. Daniel Hopcus presiding. Sister Ann Michele is survived by her brothers, Jacob of Savannah, Ga., and Michael of Indianapolis. The following commentary was written by Sister Connie Kramer. COMMENTARY FOR SISTER ANN MICHELE KIEFER, SP…

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The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, are a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious (sisters) who minister throughout the United States and Taiwan. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin founded the Sisters of Providence in 1840. The congregation has a mission of being God's Providence in the world by committing to performing works of love, mercy and justice in service among God's people.