


An unshakeable trust in God. It set Saint Mother Theodore Guerin apart and makes her a model for us in our daily living. Get to know our brave and inspiring foundress better through these stories.

The eight pages we read from the Mother Theodore’s ‘Journals and Letters” create quite the patchwork quilt of relationships — some intriguing, some annoying, some tender, some puzzling, some of the true blue kind.

The reading picks up after the fire at Saint Mary’s destroyed the barns and granary, other provisions and all the farm equipment.

Did you know that Saint Mother Theordore Guerin wrote over 5,000 letters in her lifetime?

As she goes on, we get a feel for more of the distress coming the sisters’ way from the bishop. “So far there has been nothing but complaints about us,” she writes.

Mother Theodore entered a culture entirely unknown to her; so perhaps the mission succeeded and endures because of her willingness to act, observe, learn and adapt.

I tend to forget that Mother Theodore came from a rather sophisticated France with great Cathedrals, actual roads, and thriving businesses, etc.

As they get closer to Indiana, Mother Theodore and her companions experience some lows and highs traveling down the Ohio River.

Saint Mother Theodore's detailed descriptions of her experiences become a way to meditate on and pray thanksgiving for creation.

Did the woman carry a yard stick? A surveyor’s measure? A folded up paper chart that converts leagues to miles, meters to inches or feet?

And then, as often happens in our darkest hours, the smallest of kindnesses can lift the spirits.

We love these women who have so shaped our beloved community.

So, what brought these diverse women and men to seek something more with the Sisters of Providence?
Some said that as alums of former Sisters of Providence schools they were reconnecting with their roots.
One told how he had come to the Woods for a retreat and was inspired by what he saw.