Kansas Shrine

Shrine of St. Philippine Duchesne
Mound City, Kansas
Phone: 636-946-6127 

Saint Philippine Duchesne was born in France in 1769. From early childhood she wanted to help heathen in distant lands and the neglected and poor at home.  She was educated by the Visitation nuns and entered the convent of Ste-Marie-d'en-Haut. During the French Revolution the convent was used as a hospital and she helped the sick and the poor . In 1804, she accepted the offer of Mother Barat to merge her community into the Society of the Sacred Heart.  In 1818 Mother Duchesne set out with 4 companions New Orleans. They sailed up the Mississippi to St. Louis and finally her colony settled at St. Charles. There she opened a school, later a convent, and an orphanage. At the age of 72 she started a school for the Potawatomi Indians in Kansas. She returned to St. Charles where she died on Nov. 18, 1852. On May 12, 1940 she was beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul II. on July 3, 1988.
The Shrine
The original site of the community has been preserved as a park and shrine. Seven crosses mark the graves of over 600 Indian Catholics who lived and are buried at the site. A massive altar and cross were been erected at the site of the original church. Foundations and remains of the original buildings, which housed the priests and nuns adjoin the memorial. Nearby, the Mound City Catholic Church features beautiful stained glass windows depicting the life of St. Philippine Duchesne.