Sisters of Providence

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 Cecile Morse

“To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.” (Matthew 25:29) “It’s probably obvious to anyone who knew Sister Cecile Morse why I have taken the liberty to adapt…

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Ann Wagner Harper: Finding the Silver Lining

“Look for the silver lining.” That musical line has been the personal mantra of Ann Wagner Harper for many years. During her days on radio and television and later as a professor at Butler University, Indianapolis, Ann often repeated these…

Sister Paula Modaff

“Little Paula Modaff in Rome.” Sister Paula Modaff the high school teacher. Sister Paula Modaff the student, studying Spanish and Latin American Literature in Mexico. Sister Paula Modaff the paralegal. Sister Paula Modaff the canon lawyer. Sister Paula Modaff the…

Sister Barbara Zeller

Sister Barbara Ann Zeller describes herself as innately shy. In her younger years, she said she was a loner. She used to have a penchant for running away from some of life’s pressures, particularly youthful peer pressure. But her accomplishments…

Sister Catherine (Catherine Ursula) Hayes

“I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.” (Wisdom 7:7b) “This passage from the Book of Wisdom praises not so much what we know as academic knowledge, the learning found in books written by great scholars,…

Sister Alice Hemans

“For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand.” (2 Timothy 4:6) “This reading from Timothy was proclaimed during the Liturgy of Sister Alice’s profession of perpetual vows on Aug.…

Sister Mary Aileen Minta

“I put my trust in you; in God, whose word I praise. …” (Psalm 56:3-4) “Sister Mary Aileen was born a Christmas child, on Dec. 25, 1919, in Indianapolis,” began Sister Margaret Quinlan in her commentary for Sister Mary Aileen…

Sister Susan Paweski

I announced to my family that I wanted to be a Sister of Providence after my second day in first grade. The year was 1956. August 14, 2005, I professed Perpetual Vows as a Sister of Providence before our Congregation…

Sister Ann Margaret O’Hara

Sister Ann Margaret O’Hara’s five-year term as general superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is moving toward its end. She has been in a leadership position for most of her 51 years as a Sister of Providence,…

Mary Kathleen Fleming: A Heart for Providence

At one point in her life she answered to Sister Melanie. Today, she answers to Kathleen or to Kathy when called that by close friends. During the 1970s, when the Catholic Church was going through monumental changes, she, too, was…