St. Rose Phillipine Duchesne, born into a wealthy connected family in the tumultuous France of 1769, was drawn to the contemplative life of the convent from an early age. Her first Order was torn apart by the French Revolution and she returned to her ancestral home. In 1804, she sought a new congregation, the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She confided to her confessor that she had received a new vision in which she spread the Word of God to the Americas.
St. Rose Phillippine was sent to the Louisiana Territory and established the first free school for girls west of the Mississippi near St. Charles, Mo. She longed to serve the Native American population and when she was 71 years old, her wish was finally granted. At a small Kansas outpost, her constant prayers earned her the Native American name “She Who Always Prays.” She became a Saint on July 3, 1988 and is revered for her prayerful ways and dedication to the new land and peoples of America. Her feast day is celebrated on November 18.
