Providence Marianwood celebrates Mother Joseph Day April 16, 2010

An actress portraying Mother Joseph of the Sisters of Providence will visit Providence Marianwood in Issaquah on April 16 to celebrate Mother Joseph Day and offer a presentation on the history of Mother Joseph to residents and the community.

Mother Joseph was born Esther Pariseau on April 16, 1823 in a farmhouse near Saint Elzear, Quebec. The third of 12 children, she learned carpentry skills from her father and the domestic arts from her mother. At age 20, she entered the convent of the Sisters of Charity of Providence (later renamed Sisters of Providence) in Montreal, where she took the name Joseph in honor of her father. Nine years later, the order received a call to bring healthcare, education and social services to the American West, where there were "great unmet needs." Before she died on Jan. 19, 1902, Mother Joseph, who was known as "The Builder," had established 29 hospitals, schools, orphanages, homes for the aged, and shelters for the mentally ill in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Canada. She helped build Seattle's first hospital and is recognized as one of the first architects in the Washington Territory.

Providence Marianwood will celebrate Mother Joseph Day by hosting actress Joan Pinkerton Tucker of Moses Lake. She will dress as Mother Joseph did when she worked in the Washington Territory and present her living history monologue, "Beggar/Builder: The Story of Mother Joseph."

Tucker is an author, professional actress and an Inquiring Mind Scholar for the Washington Commission for the Humanities. She wrote "Beggar/Builder" after researching nearly 40 years of correspondence from the archives of the Sisters of Providence. She performed Beggar/Builder more than 200 times and gave her 100th presentation to the Washington Legislature at the state capitol in Olympia. Wearing an authentic habit from the Sisters of Providence archives, she has presented "Beggar/Builder" in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.

Official Website: http://www.providence.org/marianwood