Fall 2026

186 Years Ago Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Began Her Legacy in The Woods

By BJ Riley ’16, ’23MLD, ’24MBA Vice President for Advancement

As the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College community celebrates the 20th anniversary of Mother Theodore Guerin’s canonization, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the 186 years of education SMWC has provided to many people who have walked in and out of the gates of The Avenue. Anne-Thérèse Guérin, born in Étables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, in 1798, likely never envisioned herself becoming a saint. She dreamed of becoming a religious sister so she could serve God. Just before she turned 25, she entered the Sisters of Providence in Ruille, France, and became known as Sister St. Theodore. She became a teacher just six months later and, shortly after, was named superior of a difficult mission in Rennes. In nine years, she was able to create change for the better when, before her arrival, it seemed hopeless. She went to the mission in Soulaines in 1834 to teach children and visit the sick. She studied medicine and remedies under a local doctor and learned to treat ailments. Her excellence in teaching earned her a medal in 1839. That same year, the Sisters of Providence were contacted by the new Bishop in Vincennes, Indiana, to help start a mission to educate children in the wilderness. Several sisters came forward when the call for volunteers was made, but Sister St. Theodore was not among them. She had been experiencing frail health for years as a result of a remedy that she had taken during her novitiate, which

had permanently damaged her digestive organs. She could barely eat after that and had fallen severely ill several times, receiving the last Sacraments on three different occasions. She did not want to hold back the mission, but the sister in charge told her that she believed she was the only sister capable of successfully leading the mission and that if she did not go, no one else would either. After much prayer, Sister St. Theodore decided to lead the mission, trusting in God’s Providence. She and her five companions left their home in France for more than three months’ travel to arrive in Vincennes. They were told that it was not their final destination and boarded a carriage for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. When the carriage stopped on October 22, 1840, they heard: “Come down, Sisters, we have arrived.” Mother Theodore noted in her journal, “What was our astonishment to find ourselves still in the midst of a forest, no village, not even a house in sight.” They were directed to a nearby farmhouse owned by Joseph and Sarah Thralls, where four postulants were already staying with the Thralls and six of their 12 children, for a total of 18 people in two rooms and a second-tier loft. The Sisters did not know how to read, write or speak English, and they faced harsher winters than they had experienced and food that they were not accustomed to. Mother Theodore wrote, “It is astonishing that this remote solitude has been chosen for a novitiate and especially for an academy. All appearances are against it!”

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s sewing table, writing desk, inkwell, and the original letter from Bishop Jean-Baptiste Bouvier, Bishop of LeMans, France, and an advocate, mentor and friend, can be found in the Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin at the Sisters of Providence.

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