Sister Jean Karier
“I often ponder over the goodness God has shown me in my life. It has been a beautiful and blessed life.” (Sister Jean Karier) “It has been a beautiful and blessed life. There have been ups and downs, but God…
Sisters of Providence
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.
Sister Barbara Battista
Barbara Battista was working as a pharmacist and leading a good life. “I was an independent woman. I was sure of myself. I was pretty much a wild child. I just didn’t have much room for the Church in my…
Sister-nurses during the Civil War (video)
The Sisters of Providence served as sister-nurses during the Civil War. This video sheds some light on this unique service to the nation. (with audio) Article praises Civil War video for sharing Congregation’s history.
Surgeons’ report at Indy Military Hospital
A report by Dr. John M. Kitchen and Dr. Patrick H. Jameson, hospital surgeons at the Military Hospital in Indianapolis, provided the following information in a report to Inspector-General Miles Murphy. The report was published by the Indianapolis Daily Journal.…
Civil War hospital routines
Excerpts from the Indianapolis Daily Journal, dated July 22, 1864: Hospital routine “The business of the day begins at five o’clock. At that hour the nurses busy themselves in cleaning the spittoons, washing the faces and arms of the patients,…
A Civil War widow joins the Sisters of Providence
With the death of her husband, Major John Patrick Dufficy, on June 20, 1864, Minerva Dufficy became a widow. By an act approved by Congress on July 14, 1862, she was entitled to a widow’s claim. Minerva received a monthly…
Sister Mary Rosita Thewes
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) “In searching the Scriptures for this occasion, I found the words of Saint Paul to the Philippians a mirror reflection of…
Jean Lynch: her own spirituality has been deepened
Jean Lynch is a Providence Associate from Sarasota, Fla. She attended Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She now ministers as the director of the preschool at St. Patrick Parish in Sarasota.…
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…
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…