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Whenever I think of “missionaries,” the first images that come to mind are priests or Sisters traveling in a boat down the Amazon River, walking in jungles of Africa, or maybe caring for the sick in a tropical island hospital. Never does the image of “cowgirl” enter my mind. At least it didn’t until I learned about today’s missionary hero, Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart who was inducted into the National (USA) Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
Mother Joseph, whose original name was Esther Pariseau, was born in Quebec, Canada on April 16, 1823. In 1843, at the age of 20, she decided to become a member of the Sisters of Charity of Providence (now known as the Sisters of Providence).
Her cabinetmaker father, Joseph, took her to the convent. When he introduced her to the Mother Superior, he supposedly said,”I bring you my daughter, Esther, who wishes to dedicate herself to the religious life. She can read, write, figure accurately, sew, cook, spin and do all manner of housework. She can even do carpentering, handling a hammer and saw as well as her father. She can also plan for others and she succeeds in anything she undertakes. I assure you, Madame, that she will make a good Superior someday.”
Esther took the name Sister Joseph of the Sacred Heart in honor of her father. And, she proved his words many times over.
In 1856, at the invitation of the bishop of the new Diocese of Nesqually (now the Archdiocese of Seattle) in Washington state, Mother Joseph took a group of Sisters to the Pacific Northwest. They began their work in small cabin that they turned into a school, and they took in orphans and an old man who had no home.
Over the years, the Sisters founded hospitals, schools, convents, novitiates, and other institutions. In her life, Mother Joseph founded 11 hospitals, 7 academies, 5 schools for Native American Indian children, and 2 orphanages throughout the area that today encompasses Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. And because her Order in Canada could not fund all of her projects, Mother Joseph went on fundraising expeditions to raise the money. And because Mother Joseph was an architect of sorts, she insisted on inspecting every new building to ensure it was built for safety. There was no “cutting corners” where Mother Joseph was concerned.
After a long and fruitful life, Mother Joseph died of a brain tumor on January 19, 1902 in Vancouver, Washington in Providence Academy, one of her own institutions.
The State of Washington, like each of the 50 American states, has 2 statues in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall. One of Washington’s statues is of Mother Joseph. And yes, she is a member of the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
A beautiful life.