Rose Philippine Duchesne
(1769-1852)
Inducted - Friday, November 17, 2006
Where is Rose Philippine Duchesne in the Hall of Famous Missourians?
Rose Philippine Duchesne spent 34 years on the American Frontier establishing schools and conducting charitable work. She opened the first free school west of the Mississippi in a log cabin in St. Charles, Missouri.
In 1818, she was sent to the Louisiana territory for the Bishop who was looking for a congregation of educators to help him evangelize the Indian and French children of his diocese. In 1841, she realized her dream of working with the American Indians when she moved to Sugar Creek, Kansas to work at a school for the Potawatomi. At 72 years of age, due to her ailing health, she spent long hours in contemplation, leading the Potawatomi tribe to call her "Quah-kah-ka-num-ad" or "The Woman Who Prays Always". In 1940, Philippine was beatified by Pope Pius XII and then in 1988 she was canonized by Pope John Paul II. |