Bernarda Morin (1832-1929) (born Venerance Morin Rouleau) was the Mother Superior and founder of the ''Congregation of the Sisters of Providence in Chile'', an autonomous congregation of the

Sisters of Providence (Montreal) The Sisters of Providence are a religious institute of Roman Catholic sisters founded in 1843 by Mother Émilie Gamelin. They are headquartered in Montreal, Quebec with five provinces: Mother Joseph Province, Holy Angels Province, Philippines Vic ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

order founded in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on March 25, 1843, by Emilie Gamelin.

Life

She was born on December 29, 1832, in Saint-Henri-de-Lévis, a rural village of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada, and baptised Venerance Morin Rouleau. She entered the novitiate of the order of the formerly called ''Sisters of Charity of Providence'' on May 11, 1850, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Six months afterwards, on November 21, she took the habit. On August 22, 1852, she pronounced her permanent vows. From then, she was known as Sister Bernarda. In October 1852, with 4 other sisters, she is designated to go to

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

to found an establishment of Providence. Once in Oregon City, they found out that the situation was not favourable to the practice of the Community works. They decided, as a faster way to communicate with their Superiors in Montreal, to sail from San Francisco on March 30, 1853, in a Chilean vessel. After an agitated trip of 78 days, the "Elena" docked in Valparaiso on June 17. Practically incapable of returning to Canada because of health issues, they put themselves at the disposal of the Archbishop of Santiago, Valentín Valdivieso, who missioned them for the administration of an orphanage while expecting the approval of their Canadian Superiors. With the permission of their Superiors, the Sisters of Providence opened a novitiate in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

on January 3, 1857. Mother Victoire Larroque, cofounder of the Community of Montreal, served as the Superior. When Larroque died the following month, Sister Bernarda Morin became Superior of the Mother House of Santiago. The congregation received the help of the president

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. Biography Montt was born in Petorca, Valparaíso R ...

for their support to the abandoned children. On March 12, 1880,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

decreed that the Chilean province be transformed into an autonomous order, with the name of Congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Chile. The constitutions were approved by the Pope Pío X, on January 7, 1905. On June 27, 1925, Mother Bernarda Morin received the highest decoration of the country, the Medal of the Merit, from the hands of the president

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

. She died the on October 4, 1929, in

Santiago of Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. She is buried in the Mother Church of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence in

, in the Providencia neighbourhood. It is the Church that she had built herself in 1892.

Cause Bernarda Morin-Rouleau

In 1995, the process of her beatification and canonization Cause resumed. After finalising the diocesan process in April 2010, the Cause was studied in Rome.

Legacy

In its 148 years of existence in Chile, the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence has founded high schools, elementary schools, homes for young children, teenage and elderly and has attended house of orphans and hospitals. The sisters also assisted the patients and prisoners. On January 24, 2011, a fire burned the Mother House, the interior of the church, the museum, the novitiate and the women home. Mother Bernarda Morin and

Mother Joseph Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, S.P. (16 April 1823 – 19 January 1902) was a Canadian religious sister who led a group of the members of her congregation to the Pacific Northwest of the United States. There, under her leadership, they ...

Pariseau contributed to the expansion of the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence around the world. The first day of June 1970, the Chilean sisters incorporated themselves back with the Congregation of Montreal. The sisters of Chile and Argentina now form the Bernarda Morin Province.

References

External links

* http://www.iglesia.cl/especiales/testigos/ La sierva de Dios Bernarda Morin * https://web.archive.org/web/20160125075752/http://hermanasdelaprovidencia.cl/quienes-somos/centro-bernarda-morin/

Bibliography

* ALIAGA ROJAS, fernando, La entrega sin retorno, Santiago de Chile: Congregación Hermanas de la Providencia - Chile, 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Morin, Mother Bernarda 19th-century Canadian nuns 1929 deaths Founders of Catholic religious communities 1832 births 20th-century Canadian nuns