Théodore Guérin


Theodora Guérin

Religious, Foundress, Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Caretaker, Educator
BornAnne-Thérèse Guérin
(1798-10-02)October 2, 1798
Étables-sur-Mer, France
DiedMay 14, 1856(1856-05-14) (aged 57)
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, United States
Venerated inCatholic Church
BeatifiedOctober 25, 1998, by Pope John Paul II
CanonizedOctober 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI
Major shrineShrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guérin and Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana (where her remains are entombed)
FeastOctober 3
PatronageState of Indiana; Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana; Indianapolis

Anne Thérèse Guérin SP (2 October 1798 – 14 May 1856), designated by the Vatican as Saint Theodora, was a French-American saint and the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a congregation of Catholic sisters at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Pope John Paul II beatified Guérin on 25 October 1998, and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her a saint of the Catholic Church on 15 October 2006. Mother Guérin's feast day is 3 October, although some calendars list it in the Roman Martyrology as 14 May, her day of death.

Guérin immigrated to Indiana from France in 1840, and became known for her advancement of education, especially in Indiana and in eastern Illinois; founding numerous schools including Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana; and for her care of the orphaned, the sick, and the poor of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana.