SAINT ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE (1769‐1852)
November 18

Pope Benedict once declared himself struck by how remarkably diverse our American saints are—some native born: Mother Seton, Katherine Drexel, Kateri Tekakwitha; most, like many Catholics today, immigrants: Padre Ser- ra, Bishop Neumann, Mother Cabrini, Rose Philippine Duchesne. When the French Revolution that dispersed her convent ended, Rose joined the Religious of the Sa- cred Heart, volunteering for their United States mission, opening the first free school west of the Mississippi. Only after lengthy service as Superior did Rose—now seventy- one—realize her life’s dream, undertaking a mission among the Potawatomi Indians. When some worried about her advanced age and failing health, the Jesuit mis- sion leader overruled them: “She must come! She may not be able to do much work, but she’ll bring the mission success by praying for us!” Frustrated by her inability to learn their languages, Rose nevertheless “spoke” to the Native Americans by her prayerful presence before the tabernacle. “Quah-kah-ka-num-ad,” they named her, “Woman-Who-Prays-Always”—their way of bestowing the title the Church would later make official: saint!