Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | S.P. |
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| Formation | 22 October 1840 |
| Type | religious institute |
| Headquarters | Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana |
| Location |
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General Superior
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Sister Dawn Tomaszewski |
| Website | sistersofprovidence.org |
| Remarks | Founded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin |
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The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are a group of Catholic women who dedicate their lives to God and helping others. They were started by Saint Theodora Guerin (also known as Saint Mother Theodore) in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840.
Mother Theodore and five other sisters came from France. They were invited by the Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, to begin a new group of Sisters of Providence in the United States. In 1843, the Indiana group became separate from the original group in France. Their rules were officially approved by the Catholic Church in 1887.
Since 1840, more than 5,200 women have joined the Sisters of Providence. In 2014, there were almost 350 sisters. About 300 of them live and work from their main home in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Other sisters work in 17 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Asia. They have also worked in Peru and Antigua.
When you see "SP" after a sister's name, it means she is a Sister of Providence.
Mother Theodore became a saint on October 15, 2006. The Catholic Church recognized a miraculous healing that happened in 1908 as part of the process to make her a saint. Her resting place is at a special shrine near the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Contents
History of the Sisters of Providence
In 1840, Bishop Simon Bruté of the Diocese of Vincennes in Indiana asked the Sisters of Providence in France to send someone to open a school. Sister St. Theodore Guerin was chosen to lead this mission. She came with five other sisters: Sister St. Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Sénéschal, Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée, and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin.
After a difficult trip across the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern United States, the sisters arrived in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, on October 22, 1840. They stayed with a local family, Joseph and Sarah Thralls. Today, a historical marker shows where this first home was located.
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods became their own separate community. They were no longer directly part of the founding group in France. Their rules and ways of life were fully approved by the Catholic Church in 1887.
Teaching and Schools
The sisters were teachers from the very beginning. In 1840, they started building a school for girls called "The Academy." The first student arrived on July 4, 1841. This school is now known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. It is the oldest Catholic college for women in the United States. By 1846, the state allowed the college to give out degrees.
The sisters soon managed or taught in many local schools. These included St. Joseph's and St. Benedict's in nearby Terre Haute. As their good reputation grew, the Sisters of Providence began to staff schools all over Indiana. They also expanded their work to Illinois, Massachusetts, California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and other states. They even taught in schools in China, Taiwan, and Peru.
Helping During the Civil War
In May 1861, the Sisters of Providence were asked to help at City Hospital in Indianapolis. A disease called measles had spread in a nearby army camp. The U.S. Government turned the hospital into a military hospital for the entire war. In June 1864, many soldiers from Sherman's army were moved there. The hospital also cared for wounded Confederate soldiers.
Under the leadership of Mary Cecilia Bailly, the sisters took care of washing, cooking, and cleaning. Many sisters worked as nurses. Doctors John M Kitchen and P.H. Jameson wrote that the success of the hospital was "due in a great degree to the noble and self-sacrificing efforts of those meek and worthy women – the sisters of Providence."
There was also a Confederate prison in Indianapolis that held 7,000 prisoners. A military officer, Colonel Oran Perry, said that the sisters "were seen everywhere, on the boats, in the barracks, in the streets, always giving the most tender care to the soldiers."
After a battle called Fort Donelson, the Bishop of Vincennes offered the use of a seminary for sick and wounded soldiers. The sisters helped care for them there. They also staffed a special ward for contagious diseases at a college in Vincennes.
When the war ended, the hospital was given back to the city. The Sisters then opened St. John's Infirmary. This was a place for soldiers who were not strong enough to travel home yet.
Missions in Asia
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods were the first group of American Catholic sisters to start a mission in China.
Ministry in Kaifeng
In 1919, a bishop from Kaifeng, China, asked the Sisters of Providence to open a school for young women there. Sister Marie Gratia Luking led a group of sisters to Kaifeng. They arrived on November 24, 1920. Soon after, the sisters opened a medical clinic and the Hua Mei School for Girls. They worked there until 1927, when the Communist army reached Kaifeng. The sisters had to leave and found safety with another group of sisters in Korea.
In 1929, they returned to Kaifeng. They opened an orphanage and a place for women who wanted to become sisters. This local group, called the Providence Sister-Catechists, was approved by the Pope in 1932. They also opened Ching I Middle School in 1932.
World War II in China
By 1935, Japan began to threaten China. Air raids, bombings, and attacks by soldiers became common. Kaifeng was bombed on March 25, 1938. The school and novitiate (where new sisters trained) became a safe place for people seeking shelter. Even though Kaifeng was taken by the Japanese on June 6, 1938, the sisters stayed in their compound.
On December 8, 1941, Japanese soldiers attacked the sisters' compound in Kaifeng. The American sisters had to move to other compounds. On March 22, 1943, the Sisters of Providence and other U.S. missionaries were sent to the Weihsien Compound. This was a concentration camp in Shandong. Five months later, they were moved again to Peking, where they were kept under house arrest.
In September 1945, after the war ended, the sisters returned to Kaifeng. They repaired their compound, the school, and the novitiate. However, China soon faced internal conflict between the Communists and Nationalists. As the Communist armies moved toward Kaifeng, the U.S. Consulate advised American citizens to leave. The sisters spent some time in Shanghai.
Moving to Taiwan
As China came under Communist rule, 23 Sisters of Providence and Providence Sister-Catechists moved to Taiwan, which was then called Formosa. They settled in Taichung. Sister Luking and the other sisters began building a new college. This school, now called Providence University, opened in 1949. It moved to Shalu, Taichung, in 1987.
Today, Sisters of Providence work in many different ways in Taiwan. Besides Providence University, sisters work at places that care for children and adults with mental or physical disabilities. These include St. Theresa Opportunity Center, Reed School, St. Camillus de Lellis Center, and Miracle Place.
Spirituality and Faith
The Sisters of Providence believe their mission is to be "God's Providence in the world." This means they commit themselves to acts of love, mercy, and justice to serve God's people.
Each sister can worship in her own way. At their main home in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the sisters have daily Mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. The grounds also have many special holy places. These include 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. There is also an outdoor path with the stations of the cross that leads to the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery.
Current Ministries and Work
Sisters of Providence work in many areas. These include education, health care, peace and justice, social services, and spiritual growth. Besides the individual work of each sister, the group also supports several ministry organizations.
Providence Spirituality & Conference Center
The Providence Spirituality & Conference Center is a welcoming place for visitors to the Sisters of Providence. It offers retreats and other events. This center is also the entrance to the Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. Inside the center, you can see twelve historical dioramas (small 3D scenes) that show the sisters' history.
The center also has a gift shop, dining services, and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Providence.
White Violet Center for Eco-Justice
The White Violet Center for Eco-Justice focuses on organic farming, teaching about eco-justice, spiritual ecology, and speaking up for social causes. Started in 1995, the center has a herd of alpacas, 343 acres (1.4 km²) of state-certified organic farmland, bees, a berry patch, a farmers' market, a classified forest, and orchards. The White Violet Center is recognized as an "engaged project" by the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.
Guerin Outreach Ministries
Guerin Outreach Ministries includes two main programs: Providence Family Services in West Humboldt Park, Chicago, and Providence in the Desert in southern California. These programs help people with adult literacy and GED classes. They also offer tutoring for school-age children, English as a Second Language classes, citizenship classes, music classes, computer classes, and counseling in two languages.
Making a Difference in Society
After the Second Vatican Council (a big meeting in the Catholic Church), the sisters decided to focus on social justice issues. These include the role of women in the church and society, eco-justice (caring for the Earth), fighting racism, using nonviolent ways to achieve peace and disarmament, protecting immigrant rights, and helping people living in poverty.
Several ministries of the Sisters of Providence work on these issues. These include the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice and Guerin Outreach Ministries.
The Sisters of Providence also give money to non-profit groups that work for big changes in society. These groups often have trouble getting other funding. This is done through their Poverty and Justice Fund. The sisters are also a founding member of the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago.
Against the Death Penalty and for Prison Reform
Many Sisters of Providence visit and write to people in prison. In 1995, the leaders of the Sisters of Providence publicly spoke out against the death penalty. They work with other Catholic women's groups on this issue. Sisters of Providence organize prayer events, write letters to government leaders, and help share information with the media about this cause.
The only federal execution chamber in the United States is located at the Federal Correctional Complex near Terre Haute, Indiana. This is only five miles from the sisters' main home in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.
Promoting Nonviolence
The Sisters of Providence Anti-Racism Team works to end systemic racism within their own group, their sponsored organizations, their workplaces, and society. A prayer they use, called the Litany of Non-violence, says, "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."
Prisoners of Conscience
Since 1990, many Sisters of Providence have been involved with School of the Americas Watch. They protest the training of mostly 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 taken direct action in protest. This means they have faced legal trouble for crossing onto federal property at Fort Benning. For example, in November 2001, Sister Kathleen Desautels was found guilty of trespassing. She served a six-month sentence in a federal prison in Greenville, Illinois. Other sisters have been arrested and given sentences like house arrest, community service, or probation.
Green Projects
The Sisters of Providence have a strong recycling program. They also use a special system to water their organic gardens and orchards in a way that saves water.
Important Sisters of Providence
Leaders of the Congregation
- Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: She founded the congregation and is a Roman Catholic saint. She was the leader from 1840 to 1856.
- Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly: Leader from 1856 to 1868.
- Mother Anastasie Brown: Leader from 1868 to 1874.
- Sister Anne Doherty: Leader from 1981 to 1986.
- Mother Mary Cleophas Foley: Leader from 1890 to 1926. She started Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the mission in China.
- Mother Marie Helene Franey: Leader from 1948 to 1953.
- Mother Mary Ephrem Glenn: Leader from 1874 to 1883.
- Mother Euphrasie Hinkle: Leader from 1883 to 1889.
- Mother Rose Angela Horan: Leader from 1960 to 1966.
- Mother Mary Bernard Laughlin: Leader from 1938 to 1948.
- Sister Nancy Nolan: Leader from 1986 to 1996.
- Sister Ann Margaret O'Hara: Leader from 2001 to 2006.
- Mother Gertrude Clare Owens: Leader from 1954 to 1960.
- Mother Mary Pius Regnier: Leader from 1966 to 1976.
- Sister Diane Ris: Leader from 1996 to 2001.
- Sister Loretta Schafer: Leader from 1976 to 1981.
- Mother Mary Raphael Slattery: Leader from 1926 to 1938.
- Sister Dawn Tomaszewski: Leader from 2016 to present.
- Sister Denise Wilkinson: Leader from 2006 to 2016.
Other Notable Sisters
- Sister Judith Birgen: A professor and Fulbright lecturer in Uganda (2008).
- Sister Cecilia Clare Bocard: A musician and composer for organ and piano.
- Sister Irma Le Fer de la Motte (1816–1856): A French-born sister who trained new sisters.
- Sister Barbara Doherty: An educator and theologian, president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College from 1984 to 1998.
- Sister Jeanne Knoerle: An author and educator, president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College from 1968 to 1983.
- Sister Ann Joseph Morris: Known as the "keeper of the bees" from 1871-1930.
- Mary Theodosia Mug: Lived from 1860-1943.
- Sister Esther Newport: A painter, art educator, and founder of the Catholic Art Association.
- Sister Edith Pfau: A painter, sculptor, and art educator.
- Sister Alexa Suelzer: A theologian, author, and educator known for her work on the Old Testament.
Images for kids
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Ann Margaret O'Hara, a past General Superior. Since the 1970s, the Sisters have changed their traditional clothing.
See also
In Spanish: Hermanas de la Providencia de Saint Mary-of-the-Woods para niños
- St. Elizabeth Church and School
