Saint Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
Metz-born convert of Lacordaire's preaching who founded the Religious of the Assumption
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Founder, Religious
- Life
- 1817 – 1898
- Era
- 19th century
- Feast
- 10 March
- Countries
- France
Life story
Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou was born on 25 August 1817 at Metz. Her father was a banker and liberal politician, and the family did not practise the faith. When her father's banks failed her parents separated; she moved to Paris with her mother, who died of cholera while Anne-Eugénie was still in her teens.
In 1836 she attended Father Lacordaire's Lenten conferences at Notre-Dame in Paris and was converted. Father Théodore Combalot, an associate of Lacordaire, urged her to found a congregation devoted to education. In 1839, with two other young women, she began a life of prayer and study in a flat on the rue Férou near Saint-Sulpice; 30 April 1839 is given by several sources as the starting date.
The sisters opened their first school in 1841, with the patronage of Madame de Chateaubriand, Lacordaire and Montalembert. Her spiritual director, Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, founded the Augustinians of the Assumption in 1845, and the two collaborated for about forty years. The Irish sister Kate O'Neill (Mother Thérèse-Emmanuel) is regarded as co-foundress. Marie-Eugénie died on 10 March 1898. Pope Paul VI beatified her on 9 February 1975 and Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on 3 June 2007. Her congregation now works in thirty-four countries.
Works and witness
- Was converted after Lacordaire's Lenten conferences in 1836
- Began the Religious of the Assumption in Paris in 1839
- Opened a school for girls in 1841
- Collaborated with Father d'Alzon, founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption
- Her congregation spread to thirty-four countries
Saints from the same country
References
- Holy See, biography of Blessed Marie Eugénie of Jesus (vatican.va, ns_lit_doc_20070603_eugenie-jesus_en), read in full
- Wikipedia (English), “Marie-Eugénie de Jésus” – cross-check of dates
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.