Happy Feast of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne!
As we anticipate one of the special days of our school year, let us remind ourselves why we celebrate her with such enthusiasm. Among the reasons, I include:
She is the foundress of our school! She arrived here before Missouri became a state, having left her home, family, country and culture, knowing full well she would never see them again given the arduous and lengthy journey.
She is the foundress of Catholic education in our Archdiocese! She opened the FIRST Catholic school in the St. Louis area, in a little log cabin on these grounds on Sept. 14, 1818.
She is the foundress of the oldest operating school in the St. Louis metropolitan area!
She is the first Religious of the Sacred Heart to open a Sacred Heart school in the United States (we can even say the first in the Western Hemisphere) and is thus considered the foundress of all our educational establishments in the current Network of Sacred Heart Schools in this country.
She is considered one of the pioneer missionaries in the growing 19th century American frontier, and is certainly one of the most famous pioneer missionaries of this Archdiocese. As such she has great historic significance. In fact, her visage is among the bronze busts on display in the Hall of Famous Missourians in the Capital in Jefferson City.
She is currently the only canonized saint in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area and in the State of Missouri!
Additionally, we celebrate our dear Mother Duchesne with such vigor because of her exemplary life. Of her many beautiful and inspirational qualities and characteristics which we celebrate, the following are among them:
Her contemplative example: Philippine was drawn to spend hours each day in the quiet depths of her prayer. In those hours, Philippine longingly lingered with the One Whom she loved. In this context, over time, God’s Love filled her. Given the hours she spent in prayer, the Native Americans were inspired to call her The-Woman-Who-Prays-Always.
Her unflinching generosity: Philippine beautifully and exuberantly reflected the Heart of Christ, which is the Love of God, in her work, her efforts and her actions. This is exactly what drew people TO her―especially the children! Stories abound of how the children wanted to be sent to her “when they were naughty.”
Her deep humility: Apparently Philippine was not aware of HOW MUCH she reflected God’s Love to others. She was so focused on others or on God that she did not dwell on the good she was doing. She only saw the good she wanted to do. And if anything, this caused her heartache, an interior suffering which often came out as self recrimination or self-deprecating comments in her letters! (This is one of the reasons I rarely quote Philippine herself!)
This Academy is so very blessed to be able to claim her as our special, holy foundation stone:
We are blessed by her holy example.
We are blessed by her heavenly intercession.
We are blessed by her ongoing presence among us even to this day.
We have so much to be thankful for and so much to celebrate. May we do so, not only with the exuberance due this historic woman, but, let us celebrate by trying to live lives of prayer, generosity and humility!
Happy Feast of Philippine Duchesne, everyone!
Maureen Glavin, rscj
