by Marc and Julie Anderson
mjanderson@theleaven.org
MOUND CITY — Sometimes, life comes full circle.
The first time Archbishop Emeritus Joseph F. Naumann visited St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was for the canonization of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne on July 3, 1988.
St. Rose was a French Sister and member of the Society of the Sacred Heart who eventually came to the Americas and founded the first provincial house outside France, as well as the first free school for Native Americans.
At age 71, she realized a lifelong dream and founded a school for Potawatomi girls along the banks of Sugar Creek, Kansas. Although she never mastered the language herself, she became known as “Quahkahkanumad” or “Woman Who Prays Always.”
The canonization was not the archbishop’s first encounter with the missionary saint.
After his father’s death, his mother, Louise Naumann, received a St. Rose Philippine Duchesne scholarship to Maryville College in Marysville, Tennessee.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in education in three years, Louise then spent more than 40 years in Catholic education, first as a kindergarten teacher and later as a principal. One of her pupils was the archbishop emeritus.
Somewhere along the line, Louise was given a relic of the saint, a relic now preserved in the archbishop’s pectoral cross.
So, it was no wonder that in 2006, Louise Naumann was presented with the first St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Award, an honor given by the archdiocese to individuals or groups who promote Catholic education, vocations to the priesthood or religious life, or have a devotion to the saint.
On Nov. 16, just two days before the missionary’s feast day, the archbishop emeritus became the latest to receive the annual award. Father Barry Clayton, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Mound City, presented the award at the end of a special Mass celebrated for the feast day.
The Mass also saw 14 young men and women from the parish and St. Philip Neri Parish in Osawatomie and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in LaCygne confirmed. A celebratory dinner followed in the parish hall.
As he accepted the award, the archbishop emeritus began by jokingly saying, “I’m afraid my mother would think we watered down the candidates.”
Recalling his family’s devotion to the saint, the archbishop said that St. Rose Philippine was a “great example for our young people. She sought a religious vocation during the French Revolution when people were being killed for being religious or priests. And her own father opposed her in this, but eventually she persevered,” he said.
“She came to the United States as a missionary and served in the St. Louis area where I grew up in Florence and St. Charles. That’s where her remains are,” the archbishop continued. “She came to Kansas because she had this great desire to serve the Native Americans.”
“I hope we don’t tarnish this award too much,” he joked in closing, “but we’ll treasure it and it’s a joy to receive it. And newly confirmed — we’re counting on you! She’s the only canonized saint so far to live in the archdiocese. We’re counting on you to become some of the next ones — even if you’re not canonized — to live holy, saintly lives that will draw others to Jesus Christ as she did.”
