Blog
Welcome to our blog. Here, we will share with you stories of our lives as Sisters of Providence. We invite Providence Associates to write in this space also. We hope you find these posts enjoyable and inspirational.
The wisdom of Saint Mother Theodore: Letter to Sister Maria
Letter from Saint Mother Theodore to Sister Maria in Madison, Ind. Nov. 11, 1853 “My dear Sister: “Sister Basilide having written to let me know the number of hours that each of you was occupied in teaching, I told her…
The wisdom of Saint Mother Theodore: Letter to Sister Gabriella
Letter from Saint Mother Theodore to Sister Gabriella in Fort Wayne, Ind. Jan. 3, 1853 “My dear Sister: “I have received with true pleasure your good and affectionate wishes. The heart understands the heart. As yours was speaking in your…
The wisdom of Saint Mother Theodore: to the sisters in Madison
Letter from Saint Mother Theodore to the sisters in Madison, Ind. March 21, 1849 “My very dear and beloved Daughters: “Just this moment I hear that the cholera has made its entrance into your dear Madison. I cannot tell you…
Mother Theodore & Taillard
On today’s feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the great animal lover, many people around the world give a special blessing to their pets. You might not know that Mother Theodore herself had a pet, an extraordinary little dog named…
First chapel to be re-created at SMW
No worries if you’re not a history buff. The re-creation of the first log cabin chapel at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods will still be cool. Several years in the making, an authentic replica of the chapel visited by Saint Mother Theodore and…
Registry records every woman who has entered the Congregation
Since Nov. 9, 1840, every woman who has entered the Sisters of Providence has had her name recorded in one of two entrance books that are kept in the Congregation’s Archives. Now, thanks to our partnership with the Indiana Historical…
SPs and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine
Last week, I spent several days on a Civil War pilgrimage to Gettysburg, Antietam, Harper’s Ferry and Manassas. On our way to Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg, Md.), we stopped at an awesome museum in Frederick, Md. — the National…
Women’s History Month: English as a Second Language
“The Eighth American Saint” describes how the French sisters learned English after arriving at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in October of 1840: “Sister Theodore made ready to greet the new postulants as best she could in her few words of English. One…
Women’s History Month: Such speed!
“The Eighth American Saint” describes the railroad experience of Mother Theodore and her traveling companions: “They rode to Philadelphia on the South Amboy and Camden Railroad, opened only a few years before, the first rail route between New York and…
Women’s History Month: God chooses the humble
Like any human, Saint Mother Theodore had her doubts about her upcoming mission to the New World. “The Eighth American Saint” describes her feelings: “What chiefly troubled her [Saint Mother Theodore] about this new mission was that its success or…
Women’s History Month: Thank goodness she said no!
Prior to her entrance into the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé, France, Anne-Thérèse Guerin (aka Saint Mother Theodore) did have a few suitors. “The Eighth American Saint” describes an encounter between Anne-Thérèse and one young man: “‘I feel I must…
General Superior summons foundress to support new SMWC president
Sister Denise Wilkinson, general superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, offered the following comments during the announcement of a new president for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Dr. Dottie King. Dr. King had served as interim president for about…