Saint of the Day: St. Theodora Guerin

Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods (1798-1856)

Her life

+ Anne-Therese Guerin was born in Brittany and entered the Sisters of Providence in 1825, receiving the name “Sister Saint Theodore.” She made final vows in 1831.

+ In 1840, Mother Theodore (as she was known), was sent with five other sisters to establish a new foundation in the United States in the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana. She established schools in several cities in Indiana and Illinois.

+ In her efforts to protect her sisters and their ministries from interference (and attempts to gain control) by Church and civil leaders, Mother Theodore endured much suffering, including being locked in a closet by the Bishop of Vincennes because she would not acquiesce to his demands.

+ Mother Theodore also oversaw the construction of an academy and motherhouse for the sisters near the village of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, establishing an independent community: the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods.

+ Saint Theodore Guerin died on May 14, 1856, and was canonized in 2006.

For prayer and reflection

“Be assured that in leaving the past to the mercy of God and the future to His Providence you will derive from your offering very great peace and very great consolation.”—Saint Theodora Guerin

Spiritual bonus

On October 3, we also remember the bishop and martyr Blessed Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalve. A member of the Misioneros Javerianos de Yarumal, he was ordained a priest in 1940. After serving in pastoral ministry, as a seminary professor, and in various positions for his religious community, he was named superior general of his community in 1959. Consecrated a bishop in 1970, he was appointed as bishop of Aracua, Colombia, in 1984. He spoke out against the violence and ideologies of the Communist rebel group “E.L.N.” and was subsequently kidnapped on October 2, 1989, while making a pastoral visit. He was shot to death early on October 3. Honored as a martyr, Blessed Jesús was beatified in 2017.

Vocations

To learn more about Saint Theodora Guerin and the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, visit: www.spsmw.org

Prayer

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin,
valiant woman of God,
intercede for us in our needs.

Implore for us through Jesus, the Christ,
the gifts of a living faith,
abiding hope
and steadfast charity,

so that
through a life of prayer
and service with others
we may aid in promoting
the Providence of God
among all peoples.

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for us.

Amen.

(Prayer provided by the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.