Saint Who?
Saints Who Were Missionaries
Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne
Religious († 1852) Feast: November 18
Rose’s father was a wealthy businessman, lawyer, and civic leader in Grenoble, France. She was educated at a school run by Visitation nuns and became a nun herself at the age of nineteen, despite the strong opposition of her family. Four years later, the French Revolution forced her convent to close, and she had to return home.
During this period, Rose lived as a laywoman, but she quietly cared for the sick, taught children, and helped to hide priests from the authorities. When religious communities were once again permitted in France, she tried to restore her community, but the surviving sisters were too old to return. She learned about Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat’s new Society of the Sacred Heart and decided to enter that order instead.
Rose served as a superior in France for a decade before she was able to fulfill her childhood dream and become a missionary in America. She founded the first free school west of the Mississippi in Missouri, followed by several other schools and orphanages. She and her sisters dedicated their lives to teaching Native Americans and caring for those who were sick. She spent her final years living and praying in a small shack, and members of the Potawatomi tribe gave her the nickname “Woman who prays always.”
Lord Jesus Christ, teach us how to pray always.
