About St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

We cultivate a very small field for Christ, but we love it, knowing that God does not require great achievements but a heart that holds back nothing for self.

Rose Philippine Duchesne was born August 29, 1769 in Grenoble, France, to family with wealth and political connections; her father, Pierre Francois Duchesne, was a lawyer, businessman, and prominent civic leader in Grenoble, and her mother, Rose Perier, was a member of a leading family from the Dauphine region. From the age of eight, Rose had a desire to evangelize in the Americas; hearing a Jesuit missionary speak of his work there sparked this. She received a basic education at home from tutors and religious education from her mother. Educated from age 12 at the convent of the Visitation nuns in Grenoble, she joined them in 1788 at age 19 without the permission or knowledge of her family. Initially they were opposed to her choice, but finally consented.

Religious communities were outlawed during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution, and Rose's convent was closed in 1792. She spent the next 10 years living as a laywoman, but still managed to act like a good member of her Order. She established a school for poor children, provided care for the sick, and hid priests from Revolutionaries. When the Terror ended, she reclaimed her convent and tried to re-establish it with a group of sisters she had maintained in Grenoble. Because most of the sisters were long gone, the group was incorporated into the Society of the Sacred Heart under Saint Madeline Sophie Barat in 1804. They then reopened the convent of Sainte-Marie-d'en-Haut as the second house of Sacred Heart nuns. Rose became a postulant in December 1804, and made her final vows in 1805. Thereafter Rose went by her middle name, Philippine. She never used her first name again.

In 1815, Mother Philippine was assigned to found a Sacred Heart convent in Paris. On March 14, 1818, at age 49, she and four sisters were sent as missionaries to the Louisiana Territory to establish the Society's presence in America. Diseases contracted during the trip to America nearly killed her, and after she recovered in New Orleans, the trip up the Mississippi nearly killed her again. She established her first mission at Saint Charles, Missouri, a log cabin that was the first free school west of the Mississippi River. She eventually opened six other houses in America, which included schools and orphanages. She ran into some opposition as her teaching methods were based on French models, and her English was terrible; her students, however, received a good education, and her intentions were obviously for their best.

Mother Philippine was always concerned about the plight of Native Americans, and much of her work was devoted to educating them, caring for their sick, and working against alcohol abuse. Finally able to retire from her administrative duties, Mother Philippine evangelized the Pottawatomie in the Rocky Mountains at age 71, and taught young girls of the tribe. This work only lasted a year, however, because she was unable to master the Pottawatomi language. She was known to the tribe as "Woman-Who-Prays-Always" and has also been known as "The Lady of Mercy."

Mother Philippine spent her last 10 years in retirement in a tiny shack at the convent in Saint Charles, Missouri, where she lived austerely and in constant prayer. She died on November 18, 1852, at the age of 83. Mother Philippine was venerated in 1900, beatified by Pope Pius XII on May 12, 1940, and canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II on July 3, 1988.

I live now in solitude and am able to use my time reflecting on the past and preparing for death. I cannot put away the thought of the Indians and in my ambition I fly to the Rockies.

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