Theresa Maxis Award
Theresa Maxis was born in Baltimore in 1810 of a Haitian mother and British father. She was well educated and at 18, she helped found the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first congregation of women religious of color in the world.
While general superior of the Oblates, Theresa met Louis Florent Gillet, CSsR, who was seeking women religious for schools in the still-new state of Michigan. In 1845, with deep faith and a courageous spirit, Mother Theresa Maxis responded to God’s call to leave her community. She helped found a new congregation of educators: The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe, Mich.
The Theresa Maxis Award recognizes community leaders who embody the values and vision of Theresa Maxis and the IHM community: deep faith, pioneering spirit, service to the poor and commitment to justice.
2016 Theresa Maxis Award recipients – Frank Venegas Jr. and Sylvia Gucken