A wooden box underneath a simple, yet delicate, wooden canopy adorned with carved leaves, located a few miles west of Terre Haute, Ind., at first seems an unlikely and perhaps ill-fitted resting place for a saint.
But, listen to the stories of the nuns at Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and the shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, the congregation's founder, becomes the most appropriate tribute to the saint's life.
"We're here to celebrate her life, her legacy, her profound influence and impact on this state, in this city, in this area and this country," Sister Jan Craven, the Sisters of Providence director of shrines, said during an open house of the shrine this weekend.
In 1840, Mother Theodore left her native country of France at the request of the bishop of Vincennes, Ind., and traveled to the Midwest.
Leading a group of five members of the Sisters of Providence in France, Mother Theodore established Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods that same year with the aim of educating children of pioneer families and providing health care for the poor.
According to Craven, of the 250,000 school-aged children in Indiana in 1940, only 50,000 had a school to go to, so Mother Theodore opened more than a dozen schools and orphanages.
The sisters say in addition to remembering the life of Mother Theodore, who was someone who thought about the comforts of others above her own, they hope the shrine reminds people about the work they carry out in her honor.
The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are proponents of eco-justice and social justice issues. In addition to describing their work in education and in assisting the needs of the poor, part of the shrine also explains the sisters' efforts to abolish the death penalty in the U.S.
"We're planting seeds that we may not live to see the effect of them, but some generation will benefit from what we do now," Craven said. "[Mother Theodore] always believed in that, so that's what we're trying to do now."
Mother Theodore died May 14, 1856. She was canonized in 2006.
