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Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852) |
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 Philippine
Duchesne established the Society of the Sacred Heart in the United
States. She was born in Grenoble, France, August 29, 1769 and was
baptized Rose Philippine. Her early years were shaped by the upheaval
of life in revolutionary France. In 1805 while she was attempting to
revive the Visitation Monastery of St. Marie d'en Haut, Philippine met
Madeleine Sophie Barat who herself was building a new religious
society. This meeting was the beginning of their lifelong friendship
and of their collaboration in developing the Society of the Sacred
Heart.
Philippine opened the first house of the Society of
the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, Missouri in 1818. Philippine's dream
in coming to the American frontier was to work with the Native
Americans. After years of leading the Society and establishing houses
in Missouri, Louisiana and Canada, Philippine fulfilled her dream and
lived and worked among the Potowatomi. She died November 18, 1852 and
was canonized July 3, 1988.
Catherine Mooney develops a portrait of Philippine as a model for our time:
In
Philippine Duchesne we find a woman who was fully human. Her failures,
her weakness and her limits keep her within our reach, in touch with
our reality. Her holiness was not some supernatural sanctity. She got
it the old-fashioned way, as they way: she earned it, with bumps and
bruises. Her human achievement speaks to us in many ways:
She
lived in a world that was complicated and unjust. It was difficult for
her to discern at times the right thing to do in such a world. Her own
struggle to reach beyond the boundaries and biases of her own culture
and class can give courage to people today engaged in the works of
charity and justice.
She
was a woman in a world and a Church run largely by men. Her life and
choices reflect her reality as a nineteenth-century woman. They also
give us food for though as we seek to create a Church and a world in
which the gifts of both men and women find full complementarity. As a
woman on the frontier, she has something to say to women today who find
themselves on frontiers of another sort.
Philippine's
life, like so many today, was frequently marked by a sense of
loneliness and isolation. In a world marked increasingly by
individualism and even alienation, we can learn from her attempts to
give her life meaning through service of others.
Although
she felt a personal call to be with the poor, she spend much of her
life in contact with the wealthy. The Church's call to be with the poor
is much louder today, but many of us find ourselves in countries or
situations or wealth. She is an example of someone who refused to live
in just one world, ignoring the other. A woman of communion, she built
bridges between worlds.
Philippine's
life was marked by failures. Living as we do in a world little tolerant
of failure, her life has something to teach us all about what is really
of value in life. 6
6. Mooney, C. M. (1990).Philippine Duchesne: A Woman With the Poor. New York: Paulist Press, pp 30-31.
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Mission Statement of the Society of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus,
United States Province
The
Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is an international community of
women in the Catholic Church, founded in 1800 by St. Madeleine Sophie
Barat. Sharing her vision and mission, we are convinced of the
centrality of prayer and contemplation in our lives. We are committed
to discover, live and announce God’s love through the service of
education for transformation, in diverse ministries, particularly
addressing the needs of children, young people, women and those in
society who are marginalized.
What the Mission Entails
The love of Christ impels us:
- to work for justice and reconciliation, especially in the face of racism, sexism and violence of every kind;
- to join the struggle of the poor for the resources and conditions essential for human well-being;
- to build community;
- to be challenged and broadened by other cultures;
- to live in interdependence with others and with all of creation.
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