Theodore Guerin

Arriving in a region that was still largely uncleared, Mother Théodore established a new apostolic community at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, dedicated to education and works of charity. As early as July 1841, less than a year after her arrival, she opened an academy for young women, which later became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, one of the oldest Catholic institutions of higher education for women in the United States. Over the following years, she and her sisters founded several schools in the Diocese of Vincennes, in Indiana and eastern Illinois, as well as orphanages and free pharmacies for the poor. Her work encountered serious difficulties: poverty, fires, illnesses, and above all a long conflict of authority with Bishop Célestin de la Hailandière, who went so far as to relieve her of her duties and remove her from the congregation. The situation was only resolved with the resignation of the bishop, which was accepted by Rome. Mother Théodore was then able to consolidate the institute, which survived her and spread widely, making her a pioneer of Catholic education in the American Midwest.

The spiritual figure of Mother Theodore is characterized by an unlimited trust in Divine Providence, which gave its name to her congregation and guided all her actions. Faced with illness, poverty, and contradictions, she drew, according to the sources of her cause, strength and boldness from the Eucharist and prayer. During the canonization, Benedict XVI specifically emphasized that she "found the strength and the boldness to carry out [her missions] in the Eucharist, in prayer, and in an infinite trust in Divine Providence." Her writings, journals, and letters, preserved by the congregation, bear witness to a tenacious faith in the midst of trials and an attachment to humility and obedience, including during the conflict that opposed her to her bishop. Recognized during her lifetime for her educational zeal and her charity toward the poor and the sick, she left a reputation for holiness that was maintained after her death around her tomb at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a place of pilgrimage and prayer for the Sisters of Providence and the faithful.

The cause of Mother Theodore Guerin led to her beatification by Pope John Paul II on October 25, 1998. The miracle accepted for this stage concerned the healing, in 1908, of Sister Mary Theodosia Mug, a Sister of Providence suffering from serious ailments, attributed to the intercession of the foundress after a prayer at her tomb. A second miracle was subsequently recognized: the healing of Phil McCord, an employee of the motherhouse, whose severely compromised vision was restored after he invoked Mother Theodore. After the medical and then theological approval of this prodigy, Benedict XVI gave his final consent in 2006. The canonization took place on October 15, 2006, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome, during the same celebration that raised three other blesseds to the honors of the altar: Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Filippo Smaldone, and Rosa Venerini. Theodore Guerin thus became one of the few saints to have worked in the United States. Her liturgical memorial is inscribed on October 3; her date of death, May 14, is also retained in certain calendars.

The legacy of Saint Théodore Guérin remains alive through the congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, which continues her charism of education and service to the most destitute. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, which grew from the academy she founded in 1841, and the numerous schools born from her initiative make her a major figure of Catholic education in the American Midwest. The shrine erected around her tomb at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, in Indiana, attracts pilgrims and visitors, while her native Brittany also honors her memory: her family home in Étables-sur-Mer has become a memorial site, and her effigy is included among the Breton saints. Often invoked for education and by teachers, she is presented as a model of trust in Providence and perseverance in adversity. As the first saint to have exercised her apostolate in the state of Indiana, she illustrates the role of French missionaries in the rise of the Catholic Church in North America in the 19th century.