Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

Last updated

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
AbbreviationS.P.
Formation22 October 1840;183 years ago (1840-10-22)
Type religious institute
Headquarters Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
Location
  • United States, Asia
General Superior
Sister Dawn Tomaszewski
Website sistersofprovidence.org
RemarksFounded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin
Church of the Immaculate Conception (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana) Church of the Immaculate Conception (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana), exterior.jpg
Church of the Immaculate Conception (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana)

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodore and her five companion sisters departed from the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, at the invitation of the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, to found the Sisters of Providence in the United States. In 1843, the Indiana congregation became independent of the religious institute in Ruillé, and the Rules of the Congregation were approved by the Holy See in 1887. [1]

Contents

More than 5,200 women have entered the Sisters of Providence since 1840. [2] As of 2014, there were nearly 350 sisters in the institute, roughly 300 of whom live and minister from the motherhouse grounds in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Other sisters minister in 17 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Asia. [3]

Currently, foreign missions are in Asia. Former foreign missions were in Peru and Antigua. [4]

Sisters of Providence are designated by the initials "SP" following their name in print. The congregation is a member of the Women of Providence in Collaboration.

Mother Theodore was canonized on October 15, 2006. The miraculous healing in 1908 of Mary Theodosia Mug, who was also her biographer, was finally accepted by the Holy See for her cause for canonization in 2006. [5] [6] Her remains are located in her official shrine near the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, [7] as well as a portion buried in the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery.

History

In 1840 at the invitation of Bishop Simon Bruté of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, sent Sister St. Theodore Guerin to open a school and minister to people in the Diocese of Vincennes. She was accompanied by five other sisters: Sister St. Vincent Ferrer (Victoire) Gagé, Sister Basilide (Josephine) Sénéschal, Sister Olympiade (Therese) Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier (Francis Louise) Lerée, and Sister Mary Liguori (Louise Frances) Tiercin.

Marker on location of first Sisters of Providence motherhouse SP first convent marker.jpg
Marker on location of first Sisters of Providence motherhouse

After a rough journey across the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern United States, the sisters arrived in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, on October 22, 1840. [8] They stayed with a local family, Joseph and Sarah Thralls. (This location is now honored with a historical marker from the Indiana Historical Bureau.) [9]

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the Woods were established as a separate community than the founding congregation in Ruillé-sur-Loir. The rules and constitutions received final approval from the Holy See in 1887. [8]

Educational ministry

Educators from the beginning, the sisters began building a school for girls called "The Academy" in 1840. The first student at the academy arrived for enrollment July 4, 1841. The Academy is now known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and is the oldest Roman Catholic college for women in the United States. As early as 1846, a charter was granted by the State empowering the institution to confer academic honors and collegiate degrees. [8]

The sisters soon found themselves in charge of or staffing several local schools, including St. Joseph's Parochial Catholic School, St. Benedict's German Catholic School, and St. Patrick's Day School, all in nearby Terre Haute. [10] As their reputation grew, the Sisters of Providence would eventually staff schools across Indiana. They would also extend their ministry into Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, other states, and the District of Columbia. They have also staffed schools internationally in China, Taiwan, and at Colegio San José in Arequipa, Peru. [11]

Civil War

In May 1861 the Sisters of Providence were asked to take over the administration of City Hospital in Indianapolis, when measles broke out in the nearby state encampment. The United States Government turned it into a military hospital for the duration of the war. In June 1864, seventy-five Hoosiers from Sherman's army were transferred from hospitals in Louisville and Jeffersonville. The hospital also cared for wounded Confederate soldiers. Under the direction of Mary Cecilia Bailly, the sisters took charge of washing, cooking, and cleaning; several Sisters served as nurses. In a "Report of the Surgeons of the Military Hospital" to the Inspector General, Doctors John M Kitchen and P.H. Jameson wrote, "In conclusion we feel that ... whatever success may have attended the management of the Hospital is due in a great degree to the noble and self-sacrificing efforts of those meek and worthy women – the sisters of Providence." [12] :31

A Confederate prison was also located in Indianapolis, which held at one time 7,000 prisoners. According to Colonel Oran Perry of the 69th Regiment of Indiana, "It is probable that all the Sisters in the Service in the city here were, at times, on duty in this prison. ... The Sisters were seen everywhere, on the boats, in the barracks, in the streets, always giving the most tender care to the soldiers." [12] :52

After the Battle of Fort Donaldson, the Bishop of Vincennes offered the use of the seminary for the sick and wounded and the assistance of the sisters to care for them. Soldiers of the 19th Illinois Regiment were cared for at this emergency facility. The Sisters also staffed a contagion ward set up at the college at Vincennes. [12] :62

At the end of the war the hospital was returned to the city and the Sisters opened St John's Infirmary for those soldiers with no place to go, but not yet strong enough to travel.

Mission in Asia

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods were the first congregation of American women religious to establish a mission in China.

Ministry in Kaifeng

In the summer of 1919, Bishop Joseph Tacconi of Kaifeng, China, met with Sisters of Providence general superior Mother Mary Cleophas Foley to request sisters for a school for young women in Kaifeng. Sister Marie Gratia Luking led this group of sisters to Kaifeng to open an elementary school and a junior middle school for girls. Luking and her companions arrived in Kaifeng on November 24, 1920. Soon after arriving, the sisters opened a medical dispensary and the Hua Mei School for Girls. The sisters ministered here until 1927 when the Communist army of Mao Zedong reached Kaifeng. The sisters were forced to leave, taking refuge with the Maryknoll Sisters in Korea.

In 1929 they returned to Kaifeng and opened an orphanage as well as a novitiate for women wanting to enter religious life. This native congregation, the Providence Sister-Catechists, received papal approval in 1932. Ching I Middle School was opened September 12, 1932.

World War II

Japan began threatening China by 1935, and air raids, bombings, and attacks by soldiers became commonplace. Kaifeng was bombed March 25, 1938. Soon the school and novitiate became a place of refuge for people seeking safe haven. Though Kaifeng fell to the Japanese June 6, 1938, and life became more difficult for the sisters, they remained in their compound.

On December 8, 1941, the sisters' compound in Kaifeng was attacked by Japanese soldiers. The sisters from the United States were forced to relocate to a Baptist mission compound and then a Benedictine Sisters' compound in Kaifeng. On March 22, 1943, the Sisters of Providence and all other U.S. missionaries were interned at the Weihsien Compound, a concentration camp in Shandong. Five months later U.S. internees were again relocated, this time to Peking where they were placed under house arrest with the Spanish Daughters of Jesus.

In September 1945 after the war had ended, the sisters returned to Kaifeng and repaired their compound, I Ching School, and the novitiate. However, China was soon politically plagued by internal strife between the Communists and the Nationalists. As the Communist armies advanced to Kaifeng, the United States Consulate General advised U.S. citizens to leave. The sisters spent some time with the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Shanghai.

Taiwan

As China fell under Communist rule, 23 Sisters of Providence and Providence Sister-Catechists moved to Taiwan, then known as Formosa, and settled in Taichung. Luking and the other sisters began building a new college. The school, now known as Providence University, opened in 1949 and moved to Shalu, Taichung, in 1987. [13]

Currently, Sisters of Providence work in multiple ministries in Taiwan. In addition to Providence University, sisters staff multiple facilities for care of children and adults with mental and/or physical disabilities including St. Theresa Opportunity Center in Yucheng, Reed School in Hsinchu, St. Camillus de Lellis Center for the Mentally Challenged in Penghu, and Miracle Place in Taishan.

Spirituality

According to their mission statement, Sisters of Providence are "dedicated to the mission of being God's Providence in the world by committing ourselves to works of love, mercy and justice in service among God's people." [4]

Individual sisters are free to worship in their own ways and places of ministry. On the motherhouse grounds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the congregation has daily mass available in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The grounds are also home to numerous shrines and sacred places, including the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Saint Anne Shell Chapel, the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence, and a walking labyrinth. An outdoor set of the stations of the cross leads into the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery. [14]

Current ministries

Sisters of Providence work in the areas of education, health care, peace and justice, social services, and spiritual development. In addition to the individual ministries of its sisters, the congregation funds multiple ministry organizations.

Providence Spirituality & Conference Center

Providence Spirituality & Conference Center is the welcoming center for pilgrims and visitors to the Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. It offers retreats and other events. The facility serves as the entrance to the Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. Also preserved at the Center is a set of twelve historical dioramas, begun by Henri Marchand and completed by Gregory Kamka. [15]

There is also a gift shop, dining services in O'Shaughnessy Dining Hall, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence.

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice

Sr. Morris, keeper of bees, c. 1900 Sister Ann Joseph Morris - Keeper Of The Bees.jpg
Sr. Morris, keeper of bees, c. 1900

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice focuses on organic agriculture, eco-justice education, spiritual ecology and social advocacy. Founded in 1995, the center maintains a herd of alpacas, 343 acres (1.39 km2) of state-certified organic farmland, bees, a berry patch, a farmers' market, classified forest, and orchards. [16] White Violet Center is considered an "engaged project" by the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology. [17]

Guerin Outreach Ministries

Guerin Outreach Ministries is made up of two ministries: Providence Family Services in West Humboldt Park, Chicago, and Providence in the Desert in southern California. These ministries provide adult literacy/GED instruction, tutoring for school-age children, English as a Second Language classes, citizenship classes, music classes, computer literacy classes, and bilingual counseling. [18]

Activism in society

Ann Margaret O'Hara, a past General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Since the 1970s, the Sisters have abandoned their religious habit for the pant suit. AnnMargaretOHara.jpg
Ann Margaret O'Hara, a past General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Since the 1970s, the Sisters have abandoned their religious habit for the pant suit.

In the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, the congregation has elected to focus on what is calls social justice issues: women in church/society, eco-justice, racism, nonviolent strategies for peace and disarmament, immigrant rights, and persons living in poverty.

Several ministries of the Sisters of Providence address these issues, including White Violet Center for Eco-Justice, Guerin Outreach Ministries, Providence Self Sufficiency Ministries.

The Sisters of Providence administer grants to not-for-profit systemic change groups with limited access to other funding through their Poverty and Justice Fund. They are also a founding congregation and sponsoring member of 8th Day Center for Justice, based out of Chicago. [19]

Death penalty and prison reform

Numerous Sisters of Providence participate in prison ministry, visiting and writing to inmates. The General Council of the Sisters of Providence adopted a public stance against the death penalty in 1995 in collaboration with the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. Sisters of Providence plan prayer vigils, write letters to government leaders and provide media relations support for this cause.

The only federal execution chamber in the United States is located at the Federal Correctional Complex just south of Terre Haute, Indiana, only five miles away from the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Nonviolence

The Sisters of Providence Anti-Racism Team works to dismantle systemic racism within the Sisters of Providence, their sponsored institutions, places of ministry, and the larger society. The Sisters of Providence Litany of Non-violence reads, in part, "Deliver us from the silence that gives consent to abuse, war and evil. Grant us the desire, and the courage, to risk speaking and acting for the common good." [20]

Prisoners of Conscience

Since 1990, numerous Sisters of Providence have been involved with School of the Americas Watch in protest of the training of mainly Latin American military officers by the United States Department of Defense, at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia.

Several Sisters of Providence have chosen to take direct action in protest, facing legal repercussions for crossing onto federal property at Fort Benning. For action in November 2001, Sister Kathleen Desautels was convicted of federal trespassing and served a six-month sentence at the Federal Prison Camp in Greenville, Illinois. [21] Other sisters have been arrested and sentenced to house arrest, community service, and probation.

Green projects

The Sisters of Providence maintain a significant recycling program and use a sustainable irrigation system for their organic gardens and orchards. [22]

Sisters of Providence

General superiors

Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly 1868-1874 Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly.jpg
Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly 1868-1874

Other sisters

See also

Footnotes

  1. Dehey, Elinor Tong (1913). Religious Orders of Women in the United States: Accounts of Their Origin and of Their Most Important Institutions. Hammond, Indiana: W. B. Conkey Company. pp.  128–133.
  2. Sisters of Providence Media Kit Archived April 15, 2013, at archive.today
  3. "Who are the Sisters of Providence?". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana | Breaking boundaries, creating hope". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  5. Cummings. A Saint of Our Own. p. 221.
  6. Young, Julie (2007). A Belief in Providence: A Life of Saint Theodora Guérin. Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana Historical Society Press. p. 8. ISBN   978-0-87195-255-4.
  7. "New Shrine for Saint Mother Theodore Guerin". WTWO Terre Haute. October 3, 2014. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Mug, Sister Mary Theodosia (1913). "Congregations of Providence"  . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  9. "IHB: Error - Page Not Found". www.in.gov. Archived from the original on November 18, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2017.{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  10. Bradsby, H.C. (1891). History of Vigo County, Indiana, with Biographical Selections. Chicago: S.B. Nelson & Co. pp. 543–544.
  11. "Peruvian ministry artifacts on display in Heritage Museum". spsmw.org. May 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Mug, Mary Theodosia (1931). Lest We Forget: The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Civil War Service. Providence Press.
  13. "Providence University". www.pu.edu.tw. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  14. "Spirituality & Prayer". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  15. "Dioramas receive 'makeover'" (Press release). Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. August 19, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  16. Cox, Dave (January 14, 2005). "Providence Sisters work for justice in varied ministries". The Criterion. Indianapolis. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  17. Forum on Religion and Ecology Archived June 15, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Guerin Outreach Ministries". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  19. "Peace & Justice". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  20. "Sisters of Providence Litany of Nonviolence - A Prayer from the Sisters of Providence". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  21. Hanrahan, Clare, ed. Jailed for Justice, pages 124–126. Celtic WordCraft, 2007.
  22. "Green projects". Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Retrieved May 26, 2017.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Théodore Guérin</span> American Roman Catholic educator and saint

Anne Thérèse Guérin, designated by the Vatican as Saint Theodora, was a French-American saint and the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a congregation of Catholic sisters at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Pope John Paul II beatified Guérin on 25 October 1998, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her a saint of the Catholic Church on 15 October 2006. Mother Guérin's feast day is 3 October, although some calendars list it in the Roman Martyrology as 14 May, her day of death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana</span> Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, often called St. Mary's, is an unincorporated community in Sugar Creek Township in northwestern Vigo County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The community is part of the Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area. A large portion of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods along U.S. Route 150 is taken up by the grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, which contain the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence as well as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Although Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 47876. It had a population of 797 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College</span> Private Catholic college near Terre Haute, Indiana, US

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US. Originally a college exclusively for women, it is now coeducational. It is the oldest Catholic college in Indiana and is known for the Mari Hulman George School of Equine Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silas Chatard</span>

Silas Francis Marean Chatard was a Catholic Bishop of Indianapolis in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of the Immaculate Conception (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana)</span>

The Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods is a large Italian Renaissance Revival-style church constructed of Indiana limestone at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. The cathedral-like structure, which is the fourth church/chapel of the Sisters of Providence since their arrival at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840. Construction for the church began in 1886; its exterior was completed in 1891 and the interior was completed in 1907. The church was consecrated on October 23, 1907, and continues to serve as a place of daily worship services that are open to the public. The church also houses the shrine and tomb of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin, foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel (1905) was erected in the crypt beneath the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Cleophas Foley</span>

Mother Mary Cleophas Foley, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1890 to 1926. During her time in office, she completed the building of the Church of the Immaculate Conception and built numerous other buildings at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, including a new Providence Convent, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and an infirmary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Doherty</span> American educator and theologian (1931–2020)

Barbara Doherty was an educator and theologian. A Roman Catholic religious sister, she was a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She was president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana from 1984 to 1998. Other posts have been as director of the Institute of Religious Formation at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, president of the Indiana Conference of Higher Education, and on national boards of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Women's College Coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Cecilia Bailly</span>

Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1856 to 1868, directly succeeding the congregation's foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. During her time in office, she began rebuilding the Academy and sent Sisters of Providence to staff military hospitals in Indianapolis and Vincennes, Indiana during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasie Brown</span>

Mother Anastasie Brown, S.P.,, was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1868 to 1874. During her term, the congregation had financial difficulties stemming from the Panic of 1873. Both prior to and following her time in office, Brown was Directress of the Academy, a women's college run by the Sisters of Providence now known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ephrem Glenn</span> Educator and Catholic leader from the USA

Mother Mary Ephrem Glenn, S.P. was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana from 1874 to 1883. During her term, she established missions beyond Indiana for the first time and greatly reduced the Congregation's indebtedness, which was partly a result of the Panic of 1873.

Sisters of Providence may refer to a number of congregations of Religious Sisters:

The Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir or the Sœurs de la Providence de Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, are a congregation of Roman Catholic Religious Sisters founded in 1806 by Jacques-Francois Dujarié.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Bernard Laughlin</span> American educator and Catholic leader (1876–1948)

Mother Mary Bernard Laughlin, S.P., was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1938 to 1948. During her term, she coordinated the 100th anniversary of the Congregation, which was founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, and led the sisters through World War II.

SisterNancy Nolan, S.P. was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1986-1996. During her term, she completed renovation of the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Nolan also oversaw the 150th anniversary of the Congregation, founded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in 1840, and completed the construction of Providence Center at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Margaret O'Hara</span>

Ann Margaret O'Hara, SP is a former Superior general of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 2001 to 2006. During her term, she made numerous changes to help the congregation plan for the future, including establishing a Mission Advisory Board and creating a process for long-range planning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Violet Center for Eco-Justice</span>

White Violet Center for Eco-Justice is a non-profit eco-justice education center focusing on organic agriculture, spiritual ecology and social advocacy. Founded in 1996 by Sister of Providence Ann Sullivan, the center is a ministry of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. The center grew out of the Roman Catholic women religious congregation's commitment to eco-spirituality and sustainability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery</span> Catholic cemetery in Indiana, United States

Convent cemetery at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana is the cemetery for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a congregation of Roman Catholic religious women founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.

<i>Saint Mother Théodore Guérin</i> (Clark) Statue by Teresa Clark in Washington, D.C., U.S.

Saint Mother Théodore Guérin is a public Artwork by American artist Teresa Clark, located at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., United States. This statue serves as a memorial to Théodore Guérin and was a gift from the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

SisterDenise Wilkinson, S.P. is a Catholic leader, writer and educator. She was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 2006 to 2016. During her term, the congregation's foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin was canonized a saint. Wilkinson also oversaw the founding of the Providence Associates program, the renovation of several properties at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and long-range planning for the Sisters of Providence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Theodosia Mug</span> Roman Catholic nun and author.

Mary Theodosia Mug (1860-1943) was an author, poet, composer, and the biographer of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin. After almost 90 years of controversy, Sister Mug's miraculous healing from cancer was finally accepted in 2006 by the Holy See as Guérin's first miracle for sainthood. Sister Mug published books and also composed music under the pseudonym H. Maery or Helen Maery, although she did occasionally use her religious name.

References