March 4, 2011
‘Mother Theodore’ to speak in Newburgh, public invited
Providence Sister Susan Paweski is dressed as St. Mother Theodore Guerin during a presentation on the saint’s life. Click for a larger version.
By PAUL R. LEINGANG (Message editor)
Her name is Sister Sue, but when she steps in front of an audience, she becomes Mother Theodore.
Providence Sister Susan Paweski will present the story of St. Mother Theodore Guerin at St. John the Baptist Church in Newburgh on Wednesday, March 16.
In full habit, and speaking with a Breton accent, Mother Theodore will meet the students of St. John School at 1 p.m. Then she will give her presentation to the parish — and to anyone from the diocese who wants to attend — at 7 p.m. in the church.
Sister Sue weaves the story of Mother Theodore from her childhood days on the Breton shores of France to her missionary work in Indiana.
She wears a costume that was made for her presentations. “It is not an exact duplicate but does have the design of what the sisters wore in 1840,” she said.
She speaks some French, but would “love to take lessons and really speak French well.”
“I spent several months in Paris in the '70s and have had several opportunities to visit again,” she said. “After joining the Sisters of Providence in 1998, I visited Estable-sur-le-mer in Brittany, Mother Theodore's birthplace. I speak just enough French to get around as a tourist.”
St. Mother Theodore is the eighth saint in the United States. She arrived in Indiana by riverboat at Evansville, then traveled overland to a wilderness area near Terre Haute.
In the 16 years of her life in Indiana, she established the first liberal arts academy for girls in the United States, which is now St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, and many elementary schools across the state.
Sister Susan professed perpetual vows as a Sister of Providence in 2005. She previously was an educator in elementary schools and an adjunct faculty member at Concordia University near Chicago.
She has worked in administration at Mundelein College and in admissions at Loyola University of Chicago. Her current position is with the Office of Congregational Advancement for the Sisters of Providence.
Sister Susan has given her Mother Theodore presentation at elementary schools in Illinois, Indiana, California, New York and Massachusetts. She has presented at Guerin Preparatory High School in River Grove, Ill., and at Providence New Lenox in New Lenox, Ill.
She gave adult presentations for directors of religious education in the Diocese of Gary, and at other venues in Massachusetts, Illinois, California and Wisconsin.
Over the five years of her presentations, some of the questions people have for her are predictable — such as why did she become a sister, what are the sisters doing today, and can sisters keep their money.
Among the memorable questions was one from a seven-year old boy who “asked why Mother Theodore was a saint since she wasn't ‘a martyr or anything like that.’ I responded that being a saint means trying to be ‘good and do what God wants us to do everyday.’ He looked up at me incredulously and said, ‘Is that all you have to do?’ I said, ‘Yep, that's it. Remember that when you're 15 years old.’ All the adults laughed.”