Mother Theodore Gurein Shrine, an Indiana Oasis

Sometimes are you like me and you are just drawn to a place, called to go and learn more? That’s how it was with the Saint Mother Theodore Guerin shrine. Located at Saint Mary of the Woods, the shrine is located on campus in the Providence Spirituality & Conference Center.

The grounds look like Europe offering a chance to find beauty and faith together in one place. I drug Keith from our stay in Terre Haute. We were in town to watch our granddaughter and the Shock 14UA Storm team go on to win the championship. Before their team played, we had a chance to check out this amazing place where a young woman traveled from France to the US as a missionary. When she arrived, she was in the middle of nowhere in the Indiana woods. Here is the story.

Saint Mother Theodore (Anne Therese) Guerin early life

Born on October 2, 1798, in Brittany, France, Anne Therese Guerin lived during the tumultuous time of the Napoleonic Wars. She was born just on the heels of the French Revolution. France was experiencing a time of upheaval.

Living by the seashore, Anne-Therese was just ten years old when she dedicated herself to God. She decided she would become a sister. At young ages, she lost two brothers to accidents. Then, her father was killed by robbers. So, she suffered tragedy early on. On the Sisters of Providence website they share, “Sister Mary Cecilia Bailly, …wrote, “This misfortune of losing her father drew forth all the energies of Anne Therese. She was now the help and companion of her mother; very likely this reverse of fortune formed that decision and strength of character which distinguished her in after life, and by which she could so well surmount the obstacles that sometimes opposed her in the discharge of her duties.”

Sisters of Providence

Finally, she got permission from her mother to follow her calling. She joined the Sisters of Providence at Ruillé sur-Loir. Joining just before her 25th birthday, she went from Anne-Therese to her religious name, Sister St. Theodore.

Suffering from a digestive illness, she was often ill and would suffer from this for the rest of her life. Sister St. Theodore’s first assignment was to serve as Mother Superior, and teach in a rough, poor mission school with a terrible reputation at Reene’s France. With calm assurance she took on the motto, “Love the children first, then teach them”.

Using a reward system, she won the children over. Eventually Sister St. Theodore discovered it necessary to stand up to Father Dujarie, the founder of the Sisters of Providence. He was using funds from the sisters to try to establish an order of brothers and it was compromising the sisters’ congregation. Rather than be rewarded she was disciplined. On the website it states, “In 1834, likely as retribution for this misunderstanding, Sister St. Theodore she was removed from her position as superior at Rennes and sent to an out-of-the-way country ministry at Soulaines (pronounced Sue-lan).”

The Next Step

My mother has a saying, “God always provides you with what you will need”. That happened to Sister St. Theodore in her new post, she learned about medicine and how to treat the ill. She had more time for prayer and reflection and flourished. It wasn’t long before a call for missionaries to America went out. It was 1839 and the new Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, a native of France, asked the French congregation for a group of sisters. They would start a mission to educate the pioneer children in the Indiana. Sister St. Theodore did not answer the call. But despite her ill health, the powers that be said they needed her faith and strength to lead the mission, so she went.

Six nuns led by Sister St. Theodore traversed the dangerous ocean crossing. They arrived in the middle of nowhere in 1840. With no house ready for them, they stayed with a local farmer Joseph Thralls and his family. A new culture, language, and bitter cold weather greeted them. Even through the hardships, the sisters went on to establish 20 schools and more. The first academy is now known as Saint Mary of the Woods College.

Pope Paul II deemed her a Saint in 1998. I found her words comforting and I’m sure you will too. “And rest assured, if you lean with all your weight on Providence, you will find yourself well supported.”

In hardship and plenty that’s what she did and encourages us to do so as well.

Plan your own visit.

Come visit and see her story through the diorama’s that shared her journey and visit the shrine. See the beautiful Church of the Immaculate Conception. Walk, the grounds. Pray for your own peace. I found this a serene environment to pray for my own family and those I love. There is an Indoor/Outdoor self-Guided tour you can take that offers information about the shrine, event center, gift shop and more. I wat to go back and see their farm. Here they grow organic vegetables, have hens, alpaca’s that provide the fiber we use to make yarn, scarves, hats and other items.

Traveling for faith is one of my favorite things to do. Where have you been that you could immerse yourself in your faith?