Midwest Mary

Can a small group of people make much of a difference? They certainly can, and we can look to women’s religious communities for examples. One of these groups was led by Saint Theodora, also known as Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.

In the 1800s Saint Mother Theodore was asked by an American priest to leave her home country of France to found a community in the Midwest. The Indiana and Illinois wilderness needed Catholic schools for children and a community of religious women to run these schools.

Mother Theodore agreed to take on the mission. Due to a previous severe illness, she could not eat solid food and periodically was sick, but she believed that if God wanted her to do this, she would have the strength to succeed.

Mother Theodore led a group of six women religious, including herself, into the deep forest of Indiana. Together, these women supervised the building of a motherhouse for the sisters and elementary schools throughout Indiana and Illinois.

Following is an excerpt about her mission from the book, Seven Principles of Sainthood Following Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.

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Saint Mother Theodore was a courageous, compassionate, and pious woman who attained great success under difficult circumstances. She came to the United States in 1840 as a French missionary to establish a religious community and schools that provided Christian education to children in the American wilderness.

Potholes riddled her road: Poverty, illness, separation from loved ones, difficult superiors, and outright malice plagued her. Throughout it all, she persevered. She refused to surrender her divine assignment.

Mother Theodore was undaunted by the great hardships she endured because she firmly believed God provides and protects. If she followed the path God laid for her, the outcome could only be victorious. She said, “Pray, be humble, be charitable, and God’s blessing will be with you.” This is exactly what she did. She submitted herself entirely to the will of God and indeed fulfilled her mission with abundant results.

The seeds she and the Sisters of Providence planted firmly took root. Upon her death, Mother Theodore succeeded in creating an American religious congregation, the first Catholic institution for the higher education of women in Indiana, elementary schools in Indiana and Illinois, two orphanages, and free pharmacies in Vincennes and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. And to this very day, the vibrant community of the Sisters of Providence and the Academy that became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College continue as a testimony to her providential confidence.”

**Seven Principles is out-of-print. However, there is a children’s coloring book, Saint Mother Theodore and Her Promise to God, that is available.

©2024, Mary K. Doyle