Sister Denise Wilkinson, S.P. is a Catholic leader, writer and educator. She was the

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the

Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are an Consecrated life (Catholic Church), apostolic congregation of Roman Catholic Church, Catholic women founded by Saint Theodore Guerin, Theodora Guerin (known colloquially as Saint Mo ...

, Indiana, from 2006 to 2016. During her term, the congregation's foundress

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

a saint. Wilkinson also oversaw the founding of the Providence Associates program, the renovation of several properties at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and long-range planning for the Sisters of Providence.

Career

Wilkinson attended Marywood High School in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

, where she was first introduced to the Sisters of Providence congregation. Wilkinson entered the congregation on September 12, 1963, and became a fully professed Sister of Providence on August 25, 1973. Wilkinson earned a bachelor's degree in English from

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is a private Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, US. Originally a college exclusively for women, it is now coeducational. It is the oldest Catholic college in Indiana ...

. She also attended

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

and received her master's in counseling. She spent some time as Vice President of Student Affairs at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, promoting the college as "a spot to demonstrate works of love, mercy and justice." In 2006, Wilkinson was elected superior general of the Sisters of Providence when Sister Ann Margaret O'Hara decided not to seek a second term. Wilkinson was re-elected in 2011. Her administration focused on long-range congregation planning and moving the Sisters of Providence toward self-sufficiency. Wilkinson and her administration opened Providence Cristo Rey High School in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

as a sponsored ministry of the Congregation in 2007. A significant part of Wilkinson's terms involved the canonization of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in October 2006. Over the course of her administration, Wilkinson led the establishment of the permanent shrine of Saint Mother Theodore, which opened in 2014. She also led efforts to streamline the Sisters' finances and maximize use of buildings owned by the congregation. After two terms as general superior, she was succeeded by Sister Dawn Tomaszewski in the role on September 10, 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Denise Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College alumni Saint Louis University alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns