Mother Euphrasie Hinkle, S.P. (September 15, 1847 – August 27, 1889) was the Superior General of the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an apostolic congregation of Catholic women founded by Saint Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mother Theodore) at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, in 1840. Mother Theodo ...

, Indiana, from 1883 to 1889. She was a convert from

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's br ...

. During her term, she established missions of the

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

of Providence in

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and Chelsea, Massachusetts. She began building the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the

motherhouse A motherhouse is the principal house or community for a religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow memb ...

grounds in 1886. She died in office August 27, 1889.

Early life

She was born Anna Hinkle in 1847, in

Carrollton, Kentucky Carrollton is a home rule-class city in—and the county seat of— Carroll County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kentucky rivers. The population was 3,938 at the 2010 census. Geography Carrollton is located in n ...

to George D. Hinkle and Lucy S. Hawkins. Her father was a prominent judge connected with the publishing firm of Wilson, Hinkle and Co. Her mother died when Anna was very young, and she was raised by her father and a paternal aunt. Although the Hinkles were Methodist, George sent his daughters to St. Augustine School, run by the Sisters of Providence. Anna was unhappy with this arrangement and made her displeasure known in school, one day even going so far as to toss all of the classroom books on

Christian Doctrine Christian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exeg ...

out the window. However, as her schooling continued, Anna was drawn to Catholicism and soon converted. She entered the Sisters of Providence on July 14, 1864, taking the name Sister Euphrasie, and spent a year at St. John Academy in Indianapolis. After taking her first vows, she became Assistant Mistress of Novices, a position that she held until 1874. She then was appointed Superior of St. Rose Academy in

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville and Terre Haute. Founded in 1732 by French fur ...

. In August 1880, Sister Euphrasie was elected into the general administration of the Sisters of Providence as Second Assistant to Mother Mary Ephrem Glenn. With her background in education, Sister Euphrasie was very helpful in school mission visitations, a yearly required task for Superiors General.

As Superior General

In 1883, Sister Euphrasie was herself elected Superior General of the Sisters of Providence and was called Mother Euphrasie from then on. A priority of her administration was education, not only in schools run by the Sisters but also of the Sisters themselves. During her term she opened numerous schools, including the first Chicago mission of the congregation (St. Philip, now St. Mel) and the first East Coast mission (St. Rose in Chelsea, Massachusetts). She also began building the Church of the Immaculate Conception in her term, working with architects D.A. Bohlen & Son of Indianapolis. The cornerstone was laid on September 14, 1886. (The church was not completed until 1907.) In the elections of 1886, Mother Euphrasie asked to be relieved of her position due to failing health, but she was re-elected. In addition to her personal problems, the motherhouse burned down on February 7, 1889. She died on August 27, 1889, aged 41.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinkle, Euphrasie 1847 births 1889 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism from Methodism 19th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods People from Carrollton, Kentucky Schoolteachers from Indiana Burials at the Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery Kentucky women in education Catholics from Kentucky 19th-century American educators