Born Anne-Thérèse Guérin in 1798 in France, she entered the Catholic congregation Sisters of Providence of Ruillé in 1823 and received the name Sister St. Theodore. Known for her teaching, she led a mission from France to establish schools and orphanages in the Indiana wilderness, arrived here in fall 1840, and established the Sisters of Providence in U.S. Guérin opened a female academy in July 1841, the predecessor of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She and the sisters initially endured anti-Catholic sentiments and harsh frontier conditions. By her death in 1856, she had directed the opening of 11 schools in 9 Indiana towns. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her in 2006, naming her Saint Theodora Guérin.