St. Mother Théodore Guérin

Q: What miracles are attributed to Mother Théodore Guérin?

Two **approved** miracles. In 1908 Sister Mary Theodosia Mug, a Sister of Providence with cancer, was cured after praying at Mother Theodore's tomb; this was accepted for her beatification in 1998. Around 2001 Phil McCord, the congregation's facilities director, recovered from damage to his eye after praying to her, and no longer needed a corneal transplant; Pope Benedict XVI approved this second miracle in 2006.

Curated and reviewed by Pastor Lyvers

Watercolor-style illustration of Mother Théodore Guérin in a black habit and white bonnet, standing at the edge of an Indiana forest — Illustration

St. Théodore Guérin (1798 to 1856), known as Mother Theodore, was a French Sister of Providence who arrived in the forests of western Indiana in 1840 with five companions and founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, along with schools across the state. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on October 15, 2006, after two approved miracles. Her feast day is October 3.

Who was St. Théodore Guérin?

Mother Théodore Guérin was a French Sister of Providence who spent the last sixteen years of her life on the Indiana frontier. She arrived in 1840 at a clearing in the woods near Terre Haute with five sisters and founded a congregation, a college and a string of schools across the state. Canonized in 2006, she is the first saint from Indiana, as American Saints and Causes notes.

The Vatican's official record calls her Saint Theodora. To the Sisters of Providence and to Indiana Catholics she is Saint Mother Theodore. She is not the same person as the many Eastern saints named Theodora.

Daguerreotype in a gilt case of a sister in a dark habit and white bonnet, holding a crucifix against a black book — A daguerreotype of Mother Theodore taken on June 8, 1855, less than a year before her death.Mother Théodore Guérin, June 8, 1855. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The life of St. Théodore Guérin

Brittany

Anne-Thérèse Guérin was born on October 2, 1798, in Étables-sur-Mer, a village on the coast of Brittany. The Vatican's biography says she made her First Communion at 10 and told the parish priest then that she would be a nun. When she was 15, her father, Laurent, a naval officer, was murdered by bandits on his way home. For years she cared for her grieving mother and younger sister.

She entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir on August 18, 1823, taking the name Sister St. Theodore. An illness during her novitiate, and the remedies for it, damaged her digestion for life; the Vatican says she could afterward eat only soft, bland food. She taught at Rennes and at Soulaines, where she also nursed the sick poor.

The mission to Indiana

The Diocese of Vincennes in Indiana asked the Sisters of Providence for a mission to open schools and share the faith with pioneers. Sister St. Theodore, frail and doubtful of her own fitness, accepted only after long prayer, "fearing that if she did not, no one would venture to the wilderness," in the Vatican's words. The voyage from France to New York lasted from July to September 1840. After surviving a storm at sea she wrote, "What strength the soul draws from prayer! In the midst of a storm, how sweet is the calm it finds in the heart of Jesus."

Engraving-style illustration of a three-masted sailing ship pitching in a storm on the Atlantic, with a few sisters in black habits praying below deck by lamplight — Six Sisters of Providence pray below deck as their ship rides out an Atlantic storm in 1840.

On the evening of October 22, 1840, the six sisters reached Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and went straight down a muddy path to a log cabin chapel to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. That first winter they lived in a small farmhouse, often cold and hungry.

Black-and-white etching of a small log cabin among tall trees, captioned "St. Mary's Chapel, 1840" — St. Mary's Chapel, the log cabin where the sisters first prayed in 1840, in an etching from 1891.William B. Burford, St. Mary's Chapel, 1840, 1891. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Founding in hardship

Within a year Mother Theodore opened an academy for girls, on July 4, 1841; it is now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Schools followed at Jasper, Vincennes, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Madison and other towns, with two orphanages and free pharmacies for the poor.

Engraving of a long two-story brick building with tall windows among evergreen trees — The first Academy at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, opened in 1841, from the same 1891 jubilee book.The first Academy at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, opened in 1841, 1891. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The years were hard. The Vatican's biography lists prejudice against Catholic sisters, "betrayals; misunderstandings," the separation of the Indiana community from Ruillé, and a fire that destroyed a whole harvest. Her sharpest trial came from her own bishop, Célestine de la Hailandière, who wanted the sisters under his direct control. American Saints and Causes reports that he removed her as superior and even excommunicated her; the matter ended when the pope accepted the bishop's resignation. She wrote, "If ever this poor little Community becomes settled, it will be established on the Cross."

She died at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods on May 14, 1856.

Pencil sketch of a tree-lined lane with a fence leading to several plain buildings in the woods — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1854, sketched from nature two years before Mother Theodore's death.John Corbe, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1854, 1854. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The miracles of St. Théodore Guérin

Both miracles accepted for her cause are approved, and both are told in full by the Sisters of Providence.

Sister Mary Theodosia Mug (1908). The congregation's historian, who wrote the first biography of Mother Theodore in 1904, had breast cancer, a growing abdominal tumor and a rigid left arm after surgery. On October 30, 1908, she stopped to pray at Mother Theodore's tomb, though for another sick sister. The next morning her arm was free, the swelling was gone and her lifelong digestive trouble had ended. Doctors never found malignancy again, and she lived to 82. This healing was approved for the beatification in 1998.
Phil McCord (2000 to 2001). The congregation's director of facilities, raised a Baptist, had his right eye damaged after cataract surgery in late 2000 and was told he needed a corneal transplant. Walking past the Church of the Immaculate Conception, he went in and prayed, "Mother Theodore, this is your house... if you have the power to intercede, I would appreciate anything that you can do for me." The next morning the swelling had eased, and the transplant was no longer needed. Pope Benedict XVI approved the miracle on April 28, 2006.

Why St. Théodore Guérin is a patron of Indiana

American Saints and Causes counts her among the patron saints of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana, the state she spent her American life serving. See our patron saints page, and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, another French sister who opened schools on the American frontier.

Symbols of St. Théodore Guérin in art

Because she was photographed, images of Mother Theodore follow her daguerreotype: a sister in her fifties with a strong, plain face. Look for:

The black habit and white bonnet of the Sisters of Providence of her day, with a white collar.
A crucifix held against her breast, as in the daguerreotype.
A book, for the Rule and for her work as a teacher.

Feast day and where she is honored

Her feast day is October 3. Pilgrims come to the Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, which keeps her tomb and, in a museum-like setting, her writing desk, chaplet, prayer book and shoes. See the feast days calendar.

A large pale stone church with a tall domed bell tower and a long nave, seen across a curving road among bare trees — The Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, where Phil McCord prayed.Nheyob, Church of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 2012. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A stone Celtic cross marks her first grave in the sisters' cemetery. Its base bears her words, "I sleep, but my heart watches over this house which I have built."

A tall stone Celtic cross on a base in a grassy cemetery under large trees, with rows of small white headstones behind — The Celtic cross over Mother Theodore's former grave in the Sisters of Providence cemetery.Christina Blust, Memorial cross at Mother Théodore's first grave, Sisters of Providence cemetery, 2009. CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Prayer to St. Théodore Guérin

American Saints and Causes gives this prayer for her intercession:

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, valiant woman of God, intercede for us in our needs. Implore for us through Jesus, the Christ, the gifts of a living faith, abiding hope and steadfast charity, so that through a life of prayer and service with others we may aid in promoting the Providence of God among all peoples. Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, pray for us. Amen.

The Vatican's biography recalls the advice she gave her sisters: "Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence."

Frequently asked questions

Who was St. Mother Théodore Guérin?

A French nun, born Anne-Thérèse Guérin in Brittany in 1798, who led five Sisters of Providence to Indiana in 1840. She founded the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and the academy that became Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and opened schools, orphanages and free pharmacies before her death in 1856.

What miracles are attributed to Mother Théodore Guérin?

Two approved miracles. In 1908 Sister Mary Theodosia Mug, a Sister of Providence with cancer, was cured after praying at Mother Theodore's tomb; this was accepted for her beatification in 1998. Around 2001 Phil McCord, the congregation's facilities director, recovered from damage to his eye after praying to her, and no longer needed a corneal transplant; Pope Benedict XVI approved this second miracle in 2006.

When is the feast of St. Théodore Guérin?

October 3. She was canonized on October 15, 2006, and the Vatican's official record names her Saint Theodora.

Where is St. Théodore Guérin buried?

At the Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, near Terre Haute. A stone Celtic cross marks her former grave in the Sisters of Providence cemetery.