Gertrude Clare Owens
| Mother Gertrude Clare Owens, S.P. | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Margaret Genevieve Haughan Owens March 26, 1887 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | November 18, 1963 (aged 76) Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana |
| Title | General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods |
| Predecessor | Mother Marie Helene Franey, S.P. |
| Successor | Mother Rose Angela Horan, S.P. |
| Parent(s) | Michael Haughan and Margaret Tracey (step-father Michael Owens) |
Mother Gertrude Clare Owens, S.P., (March 26, 1887 – November 18, 1963) was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1954 to 1960. During her term, she established a sister-formation program to help develop new postulants and novices. She also built a new novitiate at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, which was later named Owens Hall in her honor.
The second child of Michael Haughan and Margaret Tracey, Margaret Genevieve Haughan was born in Chicago on March 26, 1887. Her father died when Genevieve was a child, and her mother's second husband, Michael Owens, adopted her and her siblings.
Genevieve was drawn to nursing and initially considered joining the Sisters of St. Joseph, who had a history of hospital ministry. However, an aunt suggested she join the Sisters of Providence and care for ill and elderly Sisters in their infirmary instead. Genevieve entered the Sisters of Providence Congregation on September 7, 1904.
Taking the name Sister Gertrude Clare, she professed first vows on August 15, 1907, and became a fully professed Sister on August 15, 1916. On July 2, 1920, Owens was elected a Councilor of the Sisters of Providence. In this role, she managed the Sisters' Infirmary and later became in charge of several aspects of the novitiate, the training period for new sisters.
On May 5, 1954, Owens was elected as Superior General of the Congregation and earned the name Mother Gertrude Clare. In this role, she completed the building of Marian Cottage, a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima dedicated to prior general superior Mother Marie Helene Franey, the expansion of Immaculata Junior College and High School in Washington, D.C., and an expansion of Schulte High School in Terre Haute, Indiana. As part of her duty to visit Sisters on mission, she sent Sisters in her place to Taiwan—then called Formosa—where no one from the Congregation had been able to visit for years, due to the global climate of World War II.
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