Rose Philippine Duchesne

          Born in Grenoble, France, in 1769, Rose Philippine Duchesne was one of eight children and part of a prominent political family.  Her parents named her after St. Rose of Lima and St. Philip the apostle.  Rose’s family lived in the same house as her mother’s brother and his family.  When she was 12, Rose and one of her cousins were sent to the Convent of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Ste. Marie d’en Haut for schooling.  Duchesne became attracted to the religious order’s contemplative life, but her parents were not supportive.  Her father removed Rose and had her homeschooled for a time, but at the age of 18, despite the objections of her family, Rose returned to the convent and asked to be admitted to the Visitandine novitiate.  She was accepted.    

          During the French Revolution, with its anti-Catholic elements, the Visitandine community was dispersed and the monastery was seized by the state.  Rose returned to her family’s home, where she tried to continue to live the life of the order.  She would spend the next 11 years caring for her family and attending to those suffering under the French Revolution, especially the poor as well as prisoners now housed at her former monastery.  Even though the Catholic Church was not permitted to operate openly, Duchesne would help bring priests to those in need.  After the Concordat of 1801, she tried to reconstitute the Visitandine community at Ste. Marie d’en Haut.  Rose was able to reacquire the buildings and, with a few sisters, they opened a boarding school.  However, the buildings were in disrepair and Rose did not find much success in reestablishing the community.

          In 1804, Rose learned of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a new congregation founded by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat.  Barat wanted to expand to Grenoble.  After meeting with Duchesne, Rose agreed to merge her monastery into the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  She and her remaining Visitandine sisters became novices in the new order.  Saint Barat and Duchesne became very close friends.  Rose had a deep heart for prayer, often praying throughout the night.  In her youth, Rose was attracted to the stories of missionaries from New France and dreamed of bringing the Gospel to Native Americans.  That dream never left her.  During a night of adoration before the Eucharist on Holy Thursday, she would later describe an experience of seeing herself in the new World, “carrying the Blessed Sacrament to all parts of the land”.  She wanted to go.  But that opportunity would have to wait many more years as she helped establish the new order and then serve as the Society’s Superior General.  That changed when Saint Barat accepted the invitation of Bishop William Dubourg for the society to come to the Diocese of Louisiana and establish schools for Native Americans and French children.  In 1818, Rose, along with 4 other sisters, were sent, first arriving in New Orleans and then traveling to St. Charles, Missouri.  There the order opened the first free school west of the Mississipp and the first house – a simple log cabin – of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus outside of France.  A year later, Duchesne moved the society to Florissant, Missouri and established its U.S. novitiate.  Over the next decade, this group of five sisters opened quite a number of schools and new convents, in Missouri and Louisiana.     

          Still she had not fulfilled her desire to serve among the Native Americans.  That opportunity would come through the Jesuits, who had established a mission in Sugar Creek, Kansas.  They invited Duchesne and her sisters to come and run the school for the Potawatomi.  Rose was now 72 and her health was weak.  Some thought she shouldn’t go but the Jesuits insisted on her presence, knowing her reputation for prayer.  Rose was with the Potawatomi for only one year.  Her long hours of contemplation led the Potawatomi to name her, Quah-kah-ka-num-ad, or “Woman Who Prays Always”.  Rose’s health continued to decline.  In July of 1842, she returned to St. Charles, Missouri.  Rose died in St. Charles on November 18, 1852.  She was 83.

          Those researching Rose Duchesne’s life will discover references to her and the society’s involvement with slavery.  From her writings, we know that Rose was surprised to encounter slavery in the United States, as it had already been abolished in France.  She struggled with this reality, expressing a desire to admit African-Americans to both the society’s schools and even to the order, but also knowing the difficulties of doing so in areas where slavery, at the time, was prevalent.  Frontier life was difficult and, as the society has acknowledged, Rose and the sisters regretfully did own some slaves.  

          Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne is considered one of the patron saints of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The National Shrine of Saint Rose Duchesne is located in St. Charles, Missouri. Pilgrims can pray before her remains which are entombed in a side chapel in the shrine.