Maria Teodora Voiron

Maria Teodora Voiron (April 6, 1835 – July 17, 1925) was a French nun who worked in Brazil. She is declared venerable.

Biography

Early years

Louise Josephine was born and baptized in Chambéry in 1835. She was the eldest daughter of Claude Voiron and Catherine Héritier. His home was a deeply Catholic home. From the family came four nuns of St. Joseph of Chambéry. Three of them spent their lives in Brazil. A priest also lived in Brazil for six years. Catherine, his mother, died in 1846, at the age of 30. At the age of three, Luísa Josefina was stricken with seizures. Her parents took her to the Shrine of Our Lady of Myans, near Chambéry. There they attended mass and promised that if their little daughter was cured, they would make this pilgrimage every year until she reached 20 years old. At the end of the celebration, they saw their daughter regain freedom of movement so well that she returned to Chambéry on foot with them.

Good works

Very early on, her mother taught her to work for the poor and knew how to find the ingenious means to apply her to jobs she did not like, to combat her nascent vanity, to teach her respect for the good of others and the horror of lies. She was admitted to the Eucharist in 1845, well before the usual age at the time (twelve years old).

In Brazil

She came to Brazil to be the Superior of the group, but when she arrived in Itu, Bishop Antônio Joaquim de Mello found her too young – a child – to be the Superior. For this reason, Sister Maria Justina was kept in office and only in November 1859, Mother Maria Teodora was reappointed to the position. On November 13, 1859, the foundation of the Colégio Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio took place, the first school in the State of São Paulo for female education. Great were the difficulties suffered in the early days: financial difficulties, diversity of climate, food. Her moral sufferings were much greater: the misunderstanding and divergence of opinion between her superiors in Brazil and her superior in France gave rise to doubts in the Mother General. He bore these suspicions with humility, charity and prudence that were truly heroic. In 1864 he opened a school for black children. Around July 1867 he accepted the direction of the Santa Casa de Itu.

See more

• List of venerated Brazilian Catholics