Anna Xavier Murphy, RSCJ

Young Irish born Anna Murphy entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in Paris with the express purpose of following missionary Rose Philippine Duchesne to frontier America, in imitation of her adopted patron, St. Francis Xavier. She got her wish in 1822 and for eleven years heroically guided the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, through a period of amazing growth. In spite of the continual setbacks of illness and early deaths of her young sisters due to frontier conditions, she carried on until her own premature death in 1836. Beloved by her students and servants alike, she left behind a legacy of care and courage.