Théodore Guérin

Théodore Guérin (born Anne Thérèse Guérin; French pronunciation: [an teʁɛz ɡeʁɛ̃]; 2 October 1798 – 14 May 1856) was a French-American Catholic religious sister who founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, based in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born and raised in France, Guérin immigrated to the United States in 1840, where she became known for her advancement of education, especially in Indiana and in eastern Illinois. She founded numerous schools, including Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Guérin is known for her care of the orphaned, the sick, and the poor of the Diocese of Vincennes.

Guérin was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1998, and she was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Mother Guérin's feast day is 3 October, although some calendars list it in the Roman Martyrology as 14 May, the date of her death.

Early life and education

Anne-Thérèse Guérin was born on 2 October 1798, in the village of Étables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, to Laurent Guérin, an officer in the French Navy under Napoleon Bonaparte, and Isabelle (Lefèvre) Guérin. Anne-Thérèse was born near the end of the French Revolution, which led to the Reign of Terror and the establishment of the French First Republic. This period of significant change also caused a crisis within French Catholicism, when schools and churches were closed, and many Catholic priests chose exile over death from the guillotine.

Laurent and Isabelle Guérin had four children, two sons (Jean-Laurent and Laurent-Marie) and two daughters; however, only Anne-Thérèse and her younger sister, Marie-Jeanne, survived to adulthood.