“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
– Matthew 28:19-20
Throughout history, women of courage have arisen from the shadows of obscurity to answer Christ’s Great Commission, venturing to places where no Christian had tread before. From Marianne Cope, who left New York to care for an island of lepers, to Rose Philippine Duchesne, who shared the Gospel with the Native Americans in Missouri, they each inspire us with their passion and bravery.
In today’s post, we invite you to discover the stories of four women saints who furthered missions in North America.
1. Rose Philippine Duchesne: Missionary to Missouri
On August 29, 1769, Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne was born in Grenoble, France. When she was 18, she joined the Convent of the Visitation of Saint Marie d’en Haut as a novice. A few years later in 1804, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a novice. There, she felt a deep calling to pursue missions. Yet despite the sense of urgency she felt, Philippine was unable to pursue foreign missions until 12 years later.
In 1818, Philippine finally traveled to St. Charles, Missouri, with five other women to found the first order of the Society of the Sacred Heart outside of France. The mission was not without challenges: Philippine had trouble learning English and interacting with the Native Americans, and also faced financial difficulties. She founded the first free school west of the Mississippi that year, and within the decade, founded six houses.
In 1852, Philippine passed away at age 83. She is honored in the Basilica in a statue in Memorial Hall and in the Trinity Dome mosaic. In 1988, Rose Philippine Duchesne became the fourth citizen of the United States to be canonized.
2. Mother Théodore Guérin: Missionary to Indiana
Saint Théodore Guérin was born as Anne-Thérèse on October 2, 1798, in the town of Estables, France. The girl was devout from a young age, and at age 10, she told a parish priest that she intended to be a nun. When Anne-Thérèse was only 15, her father was murdered by bandits, leaving her to care for her mother and sister. In the face of personal tragedy and difficulty, Anne-Thérèse turned to God for solace.
At age 25, she joined the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, a religious order focused on caring for the sick and impoverished, as well as furthering children’s educational opportunities. There, she became known as Théodore, and was asked to take a group of women on a mission to Indiana to minister to pioneers.
In Indiana, Théodore founded the order of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, establishing a motherhouse and a school. They faced untold trials in Indiana – from starvation and bitter winters to prejudice against Catholics. Throughout everything, however, she relied solely on God, telling her sisters, “Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence.” Théodore went on to establish two orphanages and more schools in the region, and eventually passed away on May 14, 1856. She is portrayed at the Basilica in a life-size limestone statue in Mary’s Garden and honored in a tablet in Memorial Hall.
3. Marianne Cope: Missionary to Hawaii
Though Barbara Koob was born in West Germany on January 23, 1838, her family moved to the United States and settled in Utica, New York less than a year later. When Barbara was about 13, her father fell ill, so she began working in a factory to help provide for her parents and nine siblings. It wasn’t until she was 24 that she finally realized her dream of pursuing religious life and became a member of the Sisters of St. Francis in Syracuse, where she was given the name Marianne Cope. For a few years, Marianne served as an elementary school teacher and principal before taking on a position that would drastically change her life. Working as an administrator on the governing boards of the Franciscan Sisters, Marianne used her new position and skills to help establish two of the first hospitals in central New York. Her work in this role garnered the notice of a Catholic priest, who requested she come to the Hawaiian Islands to help provide education and healthcare to the leper community.
Marianne readily accepted and travelled to Honolulu in 1883. There, she served as manager of the Kaka’ako Branch Hospital on Oahu, working with the Sisters to improve patient treatment and living conditions, and expanding the hospital’s care to include the family members of lepers, who often had difficulty finding doctors to treat them. Marianne also cared for Damien De Veuster following his diagnosis with leprosy in 1886. When the government quarantined all the lepers on the island of Molokai in 1887, Marianne chose to dedicate her life to caring for them, overseeing the operations of the two children’s homes. The work was alienating, exhausting, and oftentimes more than the small team could handle. Nevertheless, they continued dedicating their life to the people of the island. She continued to minister in Hawaii until her death on August 9, 1918.
4. Frances Xavier Cabrini: Missionary to New York
Often referred to as the mother of women’s missions, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini felt called to be a missionary from an early age. As a young girl in Italy, she would dress her dolls as nuns and send them down the river in boats as “missionaries.” She never lost her heart for missions, and at 27, approached a local bishop about the matter. At his suggestion, she founded the first institute for female missionaries: the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Within a decade, it was recognized by Rome. When she was 30, she immigrated to New York City with six of her Sisters, intending to found orphanages in Little Italy. The plan was initially met with resistance from New York’s archbishop – primarily due to lack of funds. Regardless, Frances managed to secure $5,000 for the endeavor and was soon caring for over 400 orphans from the city streets. Later, she acquired 150 acres of land and established an orphanage in the countryside.
The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart went on to found a variety of Catholic institutions throughout Europe and the Americas. In her lifetime, Frances traversed the ocean 39 times, founding over 60 missions across Europe and the Americas. In 1946, she became the first American citizen to be canonized. She is the patroness of immigrants.
Sources:
Biography of Marianne Cope, the Vatican.
Butler’s Lives of Saints, ed. Bernard Bangley
The Way of Saints, Tom Cowan
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Guide and Tour Book. Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2018.