What do we do when faced with those challenges and difficulties that can define us? We should pray to have at least a small share in the fidelity of St. Théodore Guérin (1798-1856). Born in Brittany in 1798, Anne-Thérèse Guérin’s upbringing in post-revolution France prepared her to realize the cost of what it means to be faithful. Although she hoped to become a religious sister from an early age, Guérin could not enter the convent until she was nearly 25, as she was dedicated to the care of her mother and sister after her father’s murder. At last, she became Sister Théodore after taking vows with the Sisters of Providence. At the age of 42, Guérin’s fidelity to trusting in God’s providence soon became even more important when she accepted an assignment to the Indiana frontier. Bishop Celestin de la Hailandiere of Vincennes – from which the Diocese of Fort Wayne was carved out in 1857 – asked the superior of Guérin’s order to send sisters as teaching missionaries to his diocese, which encompassed the entire Hoosier state. Guérin was troubled to learn her superior had chosen her for the task, especially considering her somewhat fragile health. Yet, she accepted the mission – after a great deal of prayer and with a heart dependent on God’s will – fearing that if she didn’t go, there might be no one who would. Along with five other sisters, Guérin arrived in Indiana in 1840. They first met with the bishop before their arrival in Terre Haute, where they began their Hoosier mission with a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. “We found waiting for us in a poor log cabin our God, our ALL,” Guérin wrote. First, Guérin established St. Mary-of-the-Woods College before her missionary zeal led to the establishment of nearly a dozen schools and orphanages throughout Indiana – including two here in our own diocese. To remember her significant contributions to ecclesial life in our diocese – including the establishment of the first Catholic school in Fort Wayne on the cathedral grounds – the chapel next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was dedicated in Guérin’s memory and a statue of her likeness was erected on the Cathedral square. Guérin’s faith was put to the test in the Indiana frontier, experiencing almost every imaginable hardship: anti-Catholicism, resistance to her mission, devastation from fire, hunger, and illness. The woman of perseverance accepted it all as providence, having written, “Does it matter what becomes of us, provided God’s will be accomplished?” Some of Guérin’s most notable challenges in Indiana included the difficulties she encountered with Bishop de la Hailandiere. Unable to work well with the sisters, the bishop sought more and more control of them. Guérin was eventually forced to return to France for advice from her superior, and it was decided that she should establish a new order back in Indiana. In her absence, the bishop made matters worse. Upon her return, the bishop even locked Guérin in a room hoping to obtain her resignation, and he even excommunicated her. The bishop created further problems for Guérin and the wider community until his resignation and return to his native France in 1847. In those years of pain and suffering, Guérin’s faith went through a crucible. Indeed, it was for Guérin a unique share in the cross. But she persevered in loving God above all things and remained faithful to Him. She urged her sisters – and now does the same with each of us – with her words, “Put yourself gently into the hands of providence.” St. Théodore Guérin died at age 57 in 1856 at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the order she founded. She lived as she taught: “What have we to do in order to be saints? Nothing extraordinary; nothing more than what we do every day. Only do it for His love.” Guérin was canonized in 2006. Bishop Rhoades petitioned the Holy See in 2009 to add Guérin’s liturgical memorial to our diocesan calendar, which was fixed to October 3. Michael R. Heinlein is author of “Glorifying Christ: The Life of Cardinal Francis E. George, O.M.I.” and a promised member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators. The post St. Théodore Guérin: A Model of Fidelity appeared first on Today's Catholic.