Sister Diane Ris, S.P., (16 July 1932 – 20 February 2013) 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, USA, from 1996 to 2001. She was also an educator and author.

Career

Ris entered the congregation in July 1951 and became a fully professed Sister of Providence on 23 January 1959, with the religious name Sister Martin Therese. She studied education at

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 ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

before earning a doctorate from

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

in elementary education. Ris taught at several grade schools in Indiana, Illinois and Maryland before becoming a professor of education at

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

, a position which she held for 20 years. In 1989 the university presented her with the Distinguished Teacher Award, the highest honor for Morehead faculty. In 1995, she held a temporary interim director position with Global Education Associates in New York. During her term as superior general, revised versions of the congregation's ''Constitutions'' and ''Complementary Document'' (1997) were published. Ris also continued the process of the

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

of the order's foundress,

Theodore Guerin Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (g ...

, including the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

ceremony in Rome in October 1998. She was also present for the final canonization ceremonies in October 2006. Ris was behind a major effort during the Catholic

Jubilee year A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

of 2000 to forgive the debt of three sponsored institutions of the Congregation. Through this campaign, $1,567,466 was forgiven. She also supported anti-death penalty efforts. In part due to the timing of Guerin's canonization process, Ris dedicated much of her time to research into Guerin's life and legacy, and her expertise has been cited in several publications including Bill Briggs's 2010 book ''The Third Miracle''. In 2011, Ris completed and published a new biography of Guerin that had originally been started by Sister Joseph Eleanor Ryan prior to her death in 1991. The book, ''Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: Woman of Providence'', contains previously unpublished material from the Sisters of Providence archives.

Works

* ''The Effect of Formal Pre-student Teaching Experiences on the Anxiety Level and Performance of Beginning Student Teachers in the Elementary School'' (1977) * ''Saint Mother Theodore Guérin: Woman of Providence'' (2011) (with Joseph Eleanor Ryan)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ris, Diane Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods People from Port Chester, New York 1932 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns