Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin Mausoleum/Garden Crypt and Chapel
This mausoleum/garden crypt was dedicated in May 2001 by Bishop John M. D'Arcy. Present were the Mother Superior and representatives of the Sisters of Providence.
The new Mausoleum/Garden Crypt and Chapel dedicated to Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin is the fourth of such units planned for the beautifully landscaped Catholic Cemetery. This 432 crypt/132 niche mausoleum/garden crypt with chapel, all designed and built by Granit Bronz CSG, Inc. of Cold Spring, Minnesota, contains 156 outside double crypt spaces, 24 outside single crypt spaces, 48 outside single cremation niche spaces, 48 inside double mausoleum spaces, and 84 inside single cremation niche spaces, providing burial space for 564 people.
The entire exterior of the structure is granite. Dual finished Carnelian granite is used for the exterior crypt fronts with polished Plum Rose granite being used on the interior crypt and niche fronts. Sunset Red thermal finished granite trim the exterior. Sunset Red polished finish granite with carving accents trim the interior. Square foot 3/8” thick thermal Lac du Bonnet granite tile surround the interior floor perimeter of the main chapel area. Carpeting from England finishes off the interior floor.
The interior chapel area also features a Knotty Pine tongue and groove wood ceiling. A forced air natural gas heating and an air conditioning system control the building's interior climate. Insulated glass line the front and back entrances.
Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin
The most recent mausoleum/garden crypt is named in honor of Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence. In 1998, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Guerin by calling her "blessed," the second step in the apostolic process of declaring her a saint of the Catholic Church. Since 1846, the Sisters of Providence have provided instruction in the Catholic Faith to children and adults in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend.
Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin was born October 2, 1798, in Estables-sur-Mer, Brittany, France. In 1823, at the age of 25, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Ruille-sur-Loir. She was a noted educator and received an award from the Academy of Angers for excellence of her work inmathematics. Also, she served as the head of several schools of the French community and, at the same time, served the sick poor in their homes.
After much prayer and deliberation—and despite poor health—Sister Theodore set sail for America in July 1840 with five other Sisters of Providence for the purpose of opening a school in the vast frontier of the Diocese of Vincennes. Following 40 perilous days and nights at sea, they arrived in New York in early September. The mission band reached Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Vigo County near Terre Haute on October 22nd after another long and difficult overland journey to Indiana.
Three Sisters of Providence, accompanied by Mother Theodore, came to Fort Wayne in 1846 at the request of Father Julian Benoit, pastor of Saint Augustine, to provide instruction in a three-story brick schoolhouse named Saint Augustine Academy for Girls. Mother Theodore did not stay but visited the new establishment occasionally. However, she spent only 16 years at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods. Suffering from poor health, Mother Theodore died on May 14, 1856, at the age of 58.