Born in 1806 in Poitou, France, Anna du Rousier lost her father at the age of seven to political violence. Studying at the Sacred Heart School in Poitiers, she met Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, who would bring the Society of the Sacred Heart to the Americas, and began preparation to enter the Novitiate. As a member of the society, Anna du Rousier would take her vows, become Mistress General of the School, and eventually be named Provincial of Piamonte. In 1852, her travels took her to North America to visit Saint Duchesne at the end of her life, before heading to Chile in 1853 in order to found a school in Santiago. This work would last for twenty-seven years, until Mother du Rousier passed away in 1880, at the age of seventy-four.

Sources:

“Anna Du Rousier.” RSCJ International. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://rscjinternational.org/anna-du-rousier/.

G. E. M. Venerable Philippine Duchesne. New York: The America Press, 1914. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/32165/32165-h/32165-h.htm.

You can read Mother du Rousier's pamphlet through JSTOR:

Mother Anna du Rousier: South American Foundress