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Sister St. Theodore is up to the task

Last Updated 12/14/2009 9:22:30 AM

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By: Christina Blust

Bishop Celestine de la Hailandière

In the summer of 1839, the first bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, the Most Rev. Simon Gabriel Bruté, sent the Rev. Celestine de la Hailandière to France to find missionaries to teach general and religious studies and to assist the sick in the large Diocese of Vincennes. With only a few priests and a great influx of Catholic, French, Irish and German immigrants, the United States diocese needed help.

Mother Mary Lecor

While Father de la Hailandière was in France, Bishop Bruté died in Vincennes, and de la Hailandière became bishop of Vincennes. The newly ordained bishop asked the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé for help.

Mother Mary Lecor, superior general, knew there was only one person up to the task and that was Sister St. Theodore. Although she was unsure at first, after much prayer and thought, Sister St. Theodore finally agreed, remembering a sentence from the Rule of the Congregation, “The Sisters will be disposed to go to any part of the world.”

Vocabulary

Vincennes: Vincennes is located on the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana and was founded in 1795.

Diocese of Vincennes: The Diocese of Vincennes included all of Indiana and the eastern third of Illinois, including the fledgling city of Chicago.

Rule: The Rule of a religious congregation states the ideals by which the members try to live and offers guidelines in terms of prayer, vowed commitment, common life, mission, governance and so forth. It is known as the congregation’s Constitutions.