圣·西奥多·葛兰嬷嬷
圣玛丽森林学院创始人. 美国第八位圣徒.
圣母西奥多·盖林的力量, determination and philosophy can be found in every brick, stone and heart on the 圣玛丽森林学院 campus to this day. 一个有勇气和信念的女人, Guerin left her home and everyone she held dear to follow God’s call in a new, 未知的领域. In this new place, she founded an academy which continues her mission today. To the students on campus, she is simply, “Mama Teddy.”
这是上帝所指引的道路. 我跟随它.
圣·西奥多·葛兰嬷嬷
出生于10月2日的安妮-特蕾莎·格林, 1798, in the village of Etables-sur-Mer in Brittany, 法国, 她在10岁时接受了第一次圣餐, 比惯例早了两年. Even at that young age, Anne-Therese knew her calling. 她向牧师传授, 在她第一次领圣餐的那天, that she had a desire to enter into a religious community.
While Anne-Therese was eager to begin her life’s mission, it was not to be. Tragedy struck her family when she was only 15, when bandits killed her father. 她的母亲, 谁已经失去了两个孩子, 陷入深深的沮丧之中, and Anne-Therese became the caretaker for her mother and sister. When she asked for her mother’s blessing to join a religious order at the age of 20, 她母亲否认了, 也不想失去安妮-特蕾斯. Five years later, however, her mother acknowledged Anne-Therese’s devotion, allowing her to leave.
Anne-Therese entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruille-sur-Loir and was given the religious name Sister St. 西奥多。. She took her first vows on September 8, 1825, and perpetual vows on September 5, 1831. Her first mission was to teach at Preuilly-sur-Claise. 她还在圣. Aubin parish school in Rennes and in Soulaines in the Diocese of Angers. It was during this time that she received a medal for her teaching from the inspector for the Academy of Angers.
As newly ordained bishop of the Diocese of Vincennes, 印第安纳州, one of Celestine Guynemer de la Hailandiere’s first actions was to request the Sisters of Providence of Ruille-sur-Loir to send a group of sisters to minister in Vincennes. At the recommendation of the superior general of the Sisters of Providence, Sister St. 西奥多同意领导这次任务.
1840年，圣. 西奥多。 and five other Sisters of Providence left their convent in 法国 on a journey to 印第安纳州 to establish an academy for young women. During the 40 days of the stormy ocean crossing, they were robbed of a good portion of the money meant to finance the rest of their trip. They arrived in New York and traveled half a continent by train, 运河, stagecoach and ferry in a foreign land where they could barely speak the language. 最后, 10月22日, 1840, 离开法国三个多月后, 妇女们渡过了沃巴什河.
本着真正冒险家的精神, Mother 西奥多。’s journal indicates that the source of their initial disappointment upon arrival was not that they had no home, but that they did not know where they would find students. 尽管存在不确定性, students came to them seeking an education even before the College’s first buildings were erected.
十多年了, 1841年到1852年, this Academy was the only Catholic boarding school for girls in 印第安纳州. In 1846, 圣玛丽森林学院 was granted the first charter for the higher education of women in the state of 印第安纳州. Mother 西奥多。 also established parish schools at Jasper, St. Peter’s, Vincennes, Madison, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Lanesville, Columbus and Terre Haute, Ind.， St。. 房间,生病了.以及文森斯的两家孤儿院.
Mother 西奥多。 was a skilled businesswoman and leader, qualities that SMWC students continue to embody today. The Sisters of Providence congregation had grown to 67 members, nine novices and seven postulants by the time of her death in 1856.
母亲西奥多于5月14日去世，享年57岁, 1856, 病了一段时间之后, 但她的故事并没有就此结束.
50多年后, in 1907, 弗朗西斯·塞拉斯·查塔德主教, the first bishop of the Diocese of 印第安纳州polis, requested that the body of Mother 西奥多。 be exhumed for examination after hearing about her extraordinary life and service. When the body was exhumed, the brain was found perfectly intact. This discovery led to Chatard introducing the Cause for Canonization. In order to be canonized a saint, two miracles must be attributed.
The first miracle attributed of Mother 西奥多。 occurred in 1908, when Sister of Providence Mary Theodosia Mug prayed for another sister at Guerin’s tomb. Mary Theodosia Mug had a large abdominal tumor and when she awoke the next day, 她自己也痊愈了.
The second miracle attributed to Mother 西奥多。 occurred in 2001, when Sister of Providence facilities management employee Phil McCord prayed to Guerin for strength to undergo surgery for his deteriorating eyesight. 第二天早上, his vision was restored and his eye now only needed minor laser treatment to remove old tissue.
Mother 西奥多。 Guerin was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1998 and canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church on October 15, 2006, 教皇本笃十六世.
Today, current students and alums of SMWC hold 圣·西奥多·葛兰嬷嬷 close to their hearts. They are a part of her legacy, and she is a part of them.
