The Basics: Born October 2, 1798, in France; died May 14, 1856, in the United States; canonized October 15, 2006, by Benedict XVI; feast day, October 3. Woman religious, missionary, teacher.
The Story: Theodore’s world was rocked when she was just fifteen and her father was murdered. Her mother fell into a deep 
depression, and Theodore spent the next several years as in essence the head of the family, caring for both her mother and a younger sister. When she was twenty-five, she became a woman religious, working as a teacher. Then her world was rocked again. She was asked to lead a group of six sisters to minister to the settlers in the Vincennes, Indiana, diocese, arriving shortly after her forty-second birthday via a set of conveyances that included a ship, stagecoach, steamboat, canal boat and train. Life in the New World wasn’t always easy; her relationship with one bishop was so challenging that at one point he locked her in a room and threatened her with excommunication from the congregation she had founded. (She begged his forgiveness; he relented and shortly thereafter resigned and returned to France himself.) Theodore founded the oldest U.S. Catholic women’s college, St. Mary-of-the-Woods Academy, along with other schools, orphanages, and free pharmacies in the area.
Theodore’s Wisdom: “We must possess all the virtues before we attempt to teach them to others.”
What We Can Learn from Theodore: Saying yes to the Lord can take us into some unusual, difficult places. Spend some time today considering if there is a situation in your life God desires you to change. Ask Him for the faith to be obedient.
To Learn More About Theodore: Visit the site for her congregation. The Shrine of St. Mother Theodore Guerin opened in Indiana in 2014 and is open to visitors.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my books, Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith or Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
