In 1818, she took a little trip...

...this little dark-clad Frenchwoman, up the mighty Mississippi river.

Having nearly died from disease during the long ocean crossing, this petite 49-year-old would barely survive this hazardous river voyage, but she would recover, settle in the Missouri territory, and start teaching school out of a log cabin.

It was not exactly a complete success: her teaching style was foreign and her English was terrible. In the end, however, most people recognized that the children were getting a good education and that the Frenchwoman’s heart was in the right place.

She had encountered great obstacles before. Her family had opposed her becoming a nun, but she entered the convent as soon as she came of age. Then, a few years later, all the convents in France were closed down because of the Revolution, but she persevered in the work of a nun (excluding only the habit): establishing schools and caring for the sick. When the persecution was lifted, her old convent failed to make a comeback, so she joined the Sisters of the Sacred Heart (who had eventually sent her to America).

She would establish convents and schools up and down the Mississippi. She also worked to help Native Americans. After 34 years of serving God on the American frontier, she would die at the age of 83 on this very day in 1852 in St. Charles, Missouri.

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne was canonized by Pope John Paul II on the 3rd of July 1988.