Hoosier Dusty Files - October 02, 1798 - Anne Therese Guerin is born in Brittany Théodore Guérin (1798–1856)

A Year of Indiana History - 2016

October 02, 1798 - Anne Therese Guerin is born in Brittany
Théodore Guérin (1798–1856)
The daughter of Laurent Guérin and Isabelle Lefèvre Guérin, St. Theodora was a native of Étables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France. The couple had four children, only two of whom survived to adulthood. While on a trip home bandits ambushed and killed her father. The loss devastated Isabelle, having already lost two of her children. She was incapable of caring for herself or the children, leaving Theodora to care for the family. She had been deeply religious as a young girl and had requested her mother allow her to join a religious order. Her mother, still incapacitated by grief, refused to allow it. Finally, in 1818, her mother relented and Theodora joined the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir.
Religious Life
The Order gave her the name Sister St. Théodore and her first teaching assignment at Preuilly-sur-Claise. While serving that post she contracted a serious disease, probably smallpox. The affliction almost killed her, but she survived. After recovering, she served at several other teaching posts, eventually receiving a medal from the Academy of Angers.
Mission Abroad
Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière became Bishop of Vincennes and requested a group of sisters to come to Vincennes, and thence to Terra Haute, the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir. Based on her record, the Order's Superior general recommended Sister St. Théodore for the task. After first questioning her own abilities, Sister St. Théodore agreed to go. She and five companions departed France in July 1840. After a stormy, forty day voyage they arrived in New York. They completed their journey to Indiana by canal boat, stagecoach, train and ferry. Robbers stole most of the money they intended to use to complete their journey.  They arrived at their final destination, St. Mary's of the Wood, in Vigo County. Living first in a small farmhouse on the frontier the sisters with a family named Thrall and some postulants. As the founder of a new order, she became Mother Theodore, the superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.
Founding Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Shortly after their arrival, the sisters founded the school St. Mary's Academy for Young Ladies, later known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She would go on to open parish schools in Jasper, St. Peter's, Vincennes, Madison, Fort Wayne and Terre Haute, Indiana and St. Francisville, Illinois. She would eventually open eleven schools all over Indiana. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her in 2006.
Excerpted from the author's book:
Exploring Indiana's Historic Sites, Markers & Museums - West Central Edition

It is fun to experience Indiana's rich history. The easy to read “this day in history format” of the Hoosier Dusty Files makes it easy for readers to learn the history of the Hoosier state The author has excerpted articles his "A Year in Indiana History" book. . Visitors may read the articles as they appear or purchase the book:
A Year of Indiana History - 2016
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