July 30, 2023 - "Saint Theodora Guerin"

Anne-Thérèse Guérin was born in Etables, France on October 2, 1798.  Her father, Laurent Guérin, was an officer in the French navy and was often away from the family for long periods of time.  When Anne-Thérèse was fifteen, her father was murdered by bandits whom he encountered on his way home for a family visit.  Isabelle Guérin, the mother of Anne-Thérèse, fell into deep depression as a result of the loss of her husband.  Anne-Thérèse bore the responsibility of caring for her mother and her young sister as well as the family’s home and garden for the next ten years.
 
When Anne-Thérèse was ten years old, she was able to receive her First Communion.  She told the parish priest that one day she would become a nun.  She was able to enter the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir when she was nearly twenty-five.  This community had been recently established.  Its members were dedicated to serving God through the education of children and the care of the sick and dying.  Upon entering the Sisters of Providence Anne-Thérèse received a religious name:  Sister Saint Theodore.
 
The next seventeen years passed quickly.  Sister Saint Theodore taught in schools run by her community.  In time she became the principal of the school and was appointed the local superior of the sisters.  She even received recognition by the French government for being a gifted teacher.  In 1840, the Bishop of the recently established Diocese of Vincennes in Indiana came to the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence in search of sisters to work in his diocese.  Sister Saint Theodore and five other Sisters of Providence were chosen for this venture.  She was designated as the Mother Superior of this missionary band and was known from that time onward as Mother Theodore. They arrived at their first home, a log cabin in the middle of the woods in Indiana.
 
Despite their meager resources the Sisters established a thriving community, attracting postulants and educating eager students from the scattered pioneer families.  In addition to hunger, cold, and illness, Mother Theodore found a huge challenge in the campaign of harassment waged by the local bishop.  He saw the Sisters of Providence as his personal possession and tried to control their affairs in every way possible.  Mother Theodore first tried to regard him charitably as an “excellent father.” Never had she found “a heart more compassionate under an exterior so cold.”
 
Relations between the two of them became so tense that Mother Theodore offered to resign as Mother Superior. “I love Indiana with my whole soul she wrote to the bishop. “To do good there was my whole ambition; the good God has permitted that you did not wish it.  May God’s will be done.” The bishop was not content with her offer to resign.  He declared that she was no longer even a Sister of Providence. He ordered her to leave his diocese and “go elsewhere to hide her disgrace.” He even threatened to excommunicate any sister who followed her.  Hearing this the entire community began to pack their bags.  At this point some surprising news came from the Holy See.  A new bishop had been appointed to the Diocese of Vincennes. Mother Theodore was restored to office, and the community prospered under her leadership.
 
Mother Theodore’s holiness was evident to people who knew her, and many simply described her as “saintly.” She had the ability to draw out the best in people, to enable them to attain more than they thought possible.  Love was one of her great hallmarks.  She loved God, God’s people, the Sisters of Providence, the Roman Catholic Church, and the people she served. She did not exclude anyone from her ministries or her prayers.  She dedicated her life to helping people know God and live better lives. She knew that alone she could do nothing, but all things were possible with God. She accepted trials, trouble, and occasions when she was treated unjustly as part of her life.  In times of persecution, she remained a faithful woman of God.
 
Mother Theodore died sixteen years after she arrived at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Only 57 when she died, Mother Theodore touched a countless number of lives in a life well lived. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified her in 1998.  Pope Benedict XVI canonized her in 2006.  At that time the Vatican gave her the official name of Saint Theodora Guérin.
 
Let me close this column with a quote from Saint Theodora Guérin: “Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the Saints, we must live like them.”
 
Until next week,
Fr. John