Diane Ris
{{Infobox person
| name = Sister Diane Ris, S.P.
| title = General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
| image = DianeRisWithFriend.jpg
| alt = Diane Ris, SP
| caption = Sister Diane Ris (right) with a friend in July 2008.
| predecessor = Sister Nancy Nolan, S.P.
| opponents =
| successor = Sister Ann Margaret O'Hara, S.P.
| birth_name = Diane Lawlor Ris
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|7|16}}
| birth_place = Port Chester, New York
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|2|20|1932|7|16}}
| death_place = Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
}}
Sister Diane Ris, S.P., (16 July 1932 – 20 February 2013) was the Superior General of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, USA, from 1996 to 2001. She was also an educator and author.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5754817.Diane_Ris|title=Diane Ris|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=4 June 2018}}
Career
Ris entered the congregation in July 1951 and became a fully professed Sister of Providence on 23 January 1959, with the religious name Sister Martin Therese.{{cite news | title=Providence sisters elect leadership | work=The Message | date=26 July 1996 | pages=2}} She studied education at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Indiana University before earning a doctorate from Ball State University in elementary education. Ris taught at several grade schools in Indiana, Illinois and Maryland before becoming a professor of education at Morehead State University, a position which she held for 20 years. In 1989 the university presented her with the Distinguished Teacher Award, the highest honor for Morehead faculty.{{cite news | url=http://tribstar.com/news/x986692228/Sister-Diane-Ris-former-general-superior-dies-at-80 | title=Sister Diane Ris, former general superior, dies at 80 | work=Tribune-Star | date=22 February 2013 | access-date=26 February 2013}} In 1995, she held a temporary interim director position with Global Education Associates in New York.{{cite news|url=http://www.themessageonline.org/local/2011/12-02/guerin.html|title=New book filled with details about St. Mother Theodore Guerin|last=Cox|first=Dave|date=2 December 2011|newspaper=The Message|access-date=12 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
During her term as superior general, revised versions of the congregation's Constitutions and Complementary Document (1997) were published. Ris also continued the process of the canonization of the order's foundress, Theodore Guerin, including the beatification ceremony in Rome in October 1998.{{Cite web
| last = Sisters of Providence
| author-link = Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
| title = Sister Diane Ris
| url = http://www.spsmw.org/SistersofProvidence/History/Generalsuperiors/SisterDianeRis19962001/tabid/1252/Default.aspx
| access-date = 22 December 2009}} She was also present for the final canonization ceremonies in October 2006.{{Cite web
| last = Wyand
| first = Mary Ann
| title = Church in Indiana honors Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin
| work = The Criterion
| publisher = Archdiocese of Indianapolis
| date = 5 March 1999
| url = http://www.archindy.org/criterion/local/causes/guerin-celebration.htm
| access-date = 23 December 2009}}
Ris was behind a major effort during the Catholic Jubilee year of 2000 to forgive the debt of three sponsored institutions of the Congregation. Through this campaign, $1,567,466 was forgiven. She also supported anti-death penalty efforts.{{cite news | url=http://search.findmypast.com/search/us-and-world-newspapers/page/view/115638577 | title=Asks Clinton to spare Juan Raul Garza's life | work=Kokomo Tribune | date=8 December 2000 | access-date=6 November 2014 | pages=A11 | via= Find My Past|url-access=subscription }}
In part due to the timing of Guerin's canonization process, Ris dedicated much of her time to research into Guerin's life and legacy, and her expertise has been cited in several publications including Bill Briggs's 2010 book The Third Miracle.{{cite book|last=Briggs|first=Bill|title=The Third Miracle|year=2010|publisher=Broadway Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-7679-3269-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/thirdmiracleordi00brig}} In 2011, Ris completed and published a new biography of Guerin that had originally been started by Sister Joseph Eleanor Ryan prior to her death in 1991. The book, Saint Mother Theodore Guerin: Woman of Providence, contains previously unpublished material from the Sisters of Providence archives.{{Cite book|title=Saint Mother Theodore Guérin: Woman of Providence|last1=Ris|first1=Diane|last2=Ryan|first2=Joseph Eleanor|date=6 September 2011|publisher=AuthorHouse Publishing|isbn=9781456736057}}
Works
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=Sister Nancy Nolan, S.P.}}
{{s-ttl|title=General Superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
|years=1996 - 2001}}
{{s-aft|after=Sisters Ann Margaret O'Hara, S.P.}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ris, Diane}}
Category:Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Category:People from Port Chester, New York