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St.
Rose Philippine Duchesne
Feast day: November 18
Rose Philippine Duchesne was born
in 1769 in Grenoble, France to a wealthy family. Against her parents’
wishes, she entered the convent at age 19. During the French Revolution,
the convent closed. So, she began caring for the poor and sick. She even
risked her life helping priests who secretly lead the Church. After the
war, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Philippine grew up listening to stories about missionaries in Louisiana.
It became her lifelong dream to go to America and work with the Indians.
At age 49, she traveled to America. The bishop sent her to St. Charles,
Missouri. There she founded the first free school for girls west of the
Mississippi. Eventually, cold, and hunger drove her out of St. Charles.
Then she founded the first Catholic Indian school in Florissant, Missouri.
She was 72 when a mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, with the
Potawatomi. Although she was retired, she was invited along. Since she
never was able to learn the language, she spent her days in prayer while
the other missionaries taught. She became known as “Woman-Who-Prays-Always.”
She died in 1852 at age 83.
Rose Philippine Duchesne was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940 and canonized
by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
Connecting to Faith First® Legacy Edition
Grade 5, chapter 24
