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 Catholics, Roman Catholic nun, sisters founded in 1843 by Émilie Gamelin. They are headquartered in Montreal, Quebec with five provinces: Mother Joseph Province, Holy Angels Province, ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

order founded in

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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 is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, 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 is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. 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 United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

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 and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

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. He was the first civilian to serve a full term as Presi ...

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

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

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 ...

. She died the on October 4, 1929, in

Santiago of Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

. 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 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