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 continue the Church underground. After the war, she joined the Society of the Sacred Heart.
Philippine grew up listening to stories about missionaries in Louisiana. Thus, it was her lifelong dream to go to America and work with the Indians. At age 49, she had the opportunity to travel to America. The bishop sent her to St. Charles, Missouri, where she founded the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi. After extremely harsh conditions, cold, and hunger drove her out of St. Charles, she founded the first Catholic Indian school in Florissant, Missouri.
At age 72, when a mission was founded at Sugar Creek, Kansas, with the Potawatomi, she was invited along. Since she was retired and 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