Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne

According to one tradition, the Duchesne River was named after Mother Rose Philippine Duchesne, a Catholic Sister of the Sacred Heart of Jesus who came to America in 1818 and settled in St. Charles, Missouri, with her companions to start a school and train teachers. She and the Sisters had started schools in Missouri, and children of many early pioneer trappers and explorers attended her school, including Anne Stegar, the niece of Gen. William Ashley, who became a nun in her community. Mother Duchesne was also the godmother of Gen. William Clark’s daughter. It is considered a real possibility that an early traveler through the Uintah Basin named the Duchesne River after her. Her greatest desire was to work among the Indian Nations, and she was able to do so only at age 71 and for only one year because of poor health. The Potowatomi people called her “the woman who always prayed.” Because of the recognized holiness of her life, Pope John Paul II was canonizing her a saint in Rome on July 3, 1988.

Duchesne, Utah · United States