We sometimes think we have it hard, but then we read about the life of a religious
who knew real bigotry in her life, in spite of her dedication to others.
who knew real bigotry in her life, in spite of her dedication to others.
MOTHER THERESA was born Marie Almeide Maxis Duchemin in Baltimore
Almaide was raised by her mother’s guardians, the Duchemin family. She was immersed in the French language and culture of the Haitian refugee community and received an education uncommon to most women of the time. She was a favorite pupil in the school operated by Elizabeth Langeand Marie Magdaleine Balas, in the Fells Point neighborhood of the city, and soon came under their care.
In 1829, at age nineteen, Almeide became one of the founding members of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious community for African-American women. At the start she was the only American-born member. She took the religious name of Theresa, and later served as Mother Superior.
In 1831, when a cholera epidemic struck Baltimore
Soon thereafter she met a young Belgian Redemptorist priest named Louis Florent Gillet, who was looking for sisters to teach inMonroe , Michigan
Soon thereafter she met a young Belgian Redemptorist priest named Louis Florent Gillet, who was looking for sisters to teach in
 |
| Fr. Louis & Mother Theresa |
In November 1845, Sister Theresa and Father Gillet founded the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.H.M.). She became the first Mother Superior. Over the next decade, the Sisters opened several schools and orphanages in
After the bishop in Pennsylvania Canada Philadelphia
