Stories about

Stories from the Archives

Woodland Inn turns 120

By Sister Mary Roger Madden | June 13, 2014 |

Among the first persons to stay at the new guest house were a Mr. and Mrs. Flaherty, sister and brother-in law of Reverend Joseph A. Byrne, chaplain at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Mother Mary Cleophas, the superior general at this time, asked the young couple to name the new facility and they gave it the name “The Woodland” or “The Woodland Inn.”

Read more

Sisters of Providence collaboration timeline

By Christina Blust | April 20, 2014 |

Humans are creatures who remember. Can you remember fondly a time when you said or did something about which you feel an appropriate level of pride? How about those times that you recall with a tinge of sadness, because you acted in a way you now regret? Might it be possible to remember even those negative times with a sense of joy, because attitudes and opinions you held in the past have changed, you have grown, and now you view things anew and would behave differently? This timeline takes a look at Sisters of Providence and their journeys of collaboration through the years.

Read more

Storms, seasickness, and the Cincinnati

By Sister Paula Damiano | March 24, 2014 |

Mother Theodore and her companions endured dark, cramped quarters, rough waters and storms on their journey from France to America. The new permanent shrine to Saint Mother Theodore will have a replica of the small space that she lived in during her travels aboard the “Cincinnati.”

Read more

Anniversary of our first mission

By Paul Beel | March 21, 2014 |

The Sisters of Providence have a long history of mission work in Jasper, Ind. This week marked the 172nd year the school has been in operation. St. Joseph school located in Jasper, Ind., was the first establishment of the Sisters of Providence outside of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Read more

From peaches to Poe

By Christina Blust | February 16, 2014 |

Dr. Sidney Doane, who showed Mother Theodore and her companions great kindness when they arrived in New York in 1840, also inspired another 19th century writer: Edgar Allan Poe himself.

Read more

A walk through the convent — technology photo album

By Christina Blust | January 10, 2014 |

We walk through the convent, where decades of technology sit comfortably side by side.

Read more

“The Promised Land of Providence”

By Christina Blust | October 22, 2013 |

Happy Foundation Day! 173 years ago today, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and her five companions finally arrived in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. This lovely, old poem written by Sister Loretta Therese Bierman (1886-1919) tells of their first view of the “deep forest.”

Read more

Sent to serve through the years

By Christina Blust | October 1, 2013 |

For the Congregation’s first 120 years in Indiana, Sisters of Providence learned of their assignments for the year by hearing the Obedience List read aloud on August 15, the day before sisters began to leave for the assigned missions.

Read more

Meeting needs far and wide

By Diane Weidenbenner | October 1, 2013 |

Sister Josephine ministered as a nurse from July 1969 to August 1971 in Vietnam during the war. She served taking care of children in an orphanage. Today she accompanies sisters having with special health needs.

Read more

Going out on Mission

By Christina Blust | August 12, 2013 |

The Sisters of Providence first sent sisters out on Mission in 1842. From then on, sisters learned of their yearly assignments via the Obedience List every August.

Read more

Coal tipple demolished

By Paul Beel | June 22, 2013 |

The coal tipple at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. was recently demolished. Read more about it on our blog.

Read more

Sister Jeanne Knoerle photo album

By Sisters of Providence | June 10, 2013 |

Remembering Sister Jeanne Knoerle through photos. Sister Jeanne died June 10, 2013.

Read more

Often, some of the most interesting pieces of history are lost in time. These inviting stories are drawn from the Sisters of Providence Archives and the memories of sisters and friends. They feature the many people and places instrumental in the Sisters of Providence history.

Stay connected

Our enewsletters and publications will keep you up to date with the best content from the Sisters of Providence.

Plan for your future!

Leave the things you value to the people and purposes you value most.

Updated Estate Planning Info. here

Farm Internships!

Are you interested in interning at White Violet Center?

Learn more here