Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Scholarship

In a letter written by Mother Theodore, dated March 27, 1854, to Cecile (Le Fer De La Motte) Choisnet, she describes what it means to have faith in Providence. “You will not be offended, and you will allow me to say, and repeat, that you ought not to give way to uneasiness about the future. Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence. Trusting all your affairs to Him and putting them also under the protection of Mary and Joseph, you will see that all will be well.”

Students will be required to attend monthly faith formation meetings with the Campus Minister. These meetings should focus on how God continues to work at the Woods and how the Saint Mother Theodore Guerin cohort can continue to grow in faith through Providence. Guest speakers, panels, and small group discussions can be included in these gatherings. The Campus Minister will coordinate these monthly gatherings.

Mother Mary Lecor, superior general of Saint Mother Theodore’s congregation of Ruillé-sur-Loir in France, knew there was only one person who could undertake such a mission of traveling to a new country to help a diocese grow in the wilderness, and that was Sister St. Theodora. Years after Mother Mary sent her beloved Sister on this venture, Saint Theodora writes a letter to her superior general. It states, “…they wish to make us pay taxes, which is contrary to the laws of the State. We refuse positively. It embarrasses them a little to have women resist them and speak to them about the law. Woman in this country is only yet one-fourth of the family. I hope that, through the influence of religion and education, she will eventually become at least one half the ‘better half.’”

Students will be required to maintain a Cumulative GPA of 3.2 and remain in good disciplinary standing. Students are required to take these three classes over the course of his/her academic career at the Woods: WC100 HN, TH200 HN, and WC4xx HN.

“We are not called upon to do all the good possible, but only that which we can do.” These words that Saint Mother Theodore Guerin wrote in a letter to Reverend J. Kundek, a priest in Jasper, Indiana, remind us of the good we are called to do. We realize we can’t do it all, but what we can do, we should do unreservedly.

“Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the Saints we must live like them. Let us force ourselves to imitate their virtues, in particular humility and charity.” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in a letter to Sisters at Saint Mary’s in 1848

Students will be required to complete service hours each month. This service may be done on or off campus. Opportunities will also be available to serve as a group.

Reflection is part of every wise person’s life, particularly Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s prayer. During her first journey to Indiana from France, Saint Theodora wrote in her journal, “Nothing troubled the charm and silence of this solitude. Making the most serious reflections on what we behold, and on our present position, I said to myself: Thus does life also pass away, now calm, now agitated, but at last the end is attained. Happy, ah, thrice happy they who can then look out to the never-ending future with calm and confidence, who can cast themselves on the bosom of God, the Center of our felicity.”

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin writes regarding daily reflection, “Every evening at the same hour when the weather was calm, I used to go on deck and bless God for all the wonders of His creation. I loved to consider the care of God’s Providence which extends even to the little fishes.”

Students will be required to complete and submit a reflection on their experience as a Saint Mother Theodore Guerin scholar at the end of each semester.

Soon after arriving in the woods of Indiana, Sister Theodore became known as Mother Theodore to the other five Sisters who traveled with her. The sister companions faced a daunting task, but trusting in the Providence of God, they set out on the mission before them. Realizing the great need for religious instruction and education, the sisters opened an academy for girls on July 4, 1841. By 1842, Sisters of Providence schools were established in Jasper, Ind., and St. Francisville, Ill.

Under the mentorship provided by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, who received the role of “Mother” through her demeanor and servant heart, the Sisters of Providence were running the schools at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and Jasper plus these other schools in Indiana: Vincennes, St. Peter’s (now Montgomery), Madison, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Evansville, North Madison, Lanesville and Columbus by the time of Mother Theodore’s death on May 14, 1856. Mother Theodore also opened two orphanages – one for girls and one for boys – in Vincennes. Additionally, the Congregation had grown from six sisters and four postulants to 67 professed members, nine novices and seven postulants.

Upper-class students who are recipients of the Saint Mother Theodore Guerin scholarship will be encouraged to mentor a freshman recipient of the same scholarship. The mentor should think about sharing his/her faith and the ways of the Woods, guiding the student toward success in and out of the classroom.