Venerable Suzanne Aubert
French-born sister in New Zealand who founded a congregation caring for the poor and incurably ill
- Rank
- Venerable
- Kind
- Founder, Religious, Missionary
- Life
- 1835 – 1926
- Era
- 20th century
- Countries
- France, New Zealand
Life story
Suzanne Aubert was born on 19 June 1835 at Saint-Symphorien-de-Lay near Lyon, France. She reached New Zealand in 1860 after leaving France that September. In 1862 she founded the Congregation of the Holy Family in Auckland to educate Māori girls.
She worked for years among Māori and set up a community at Hiruharama (Jerusalem) on the Whanganui River in 1885. That year she also published a Māori conversation manual. She was also known for remedies made from local plants, used to treat the poor.
In 1892 she founded the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, which received a Decree of Praise from the Holy See in 1917. In Wellington she established St Joseph's Home for the Incurables in 1900 and Our Lady's Home of Compassion in 1907.
She died on 1 October 1926 in Wellington, aged 91. The cause for beatification and canonisation opened in 2010, and Pope Francis recognised her heroic virtues, making her Venerable, on 1 December 2016; the cause is now before the authorities in Rome. There is no official liturgical feast.
Works and witness
- Arrived in New Zealand in 1860
- Founded the Holy Family congregation in Auckland in 1862 to teach Māori girls
- Established a community at Hiruharama on the Whanganui River in 1885
- Founded the Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion in 1892
- Opened homes for the incurably ill in Wellington, in 1900 and 1907
Saints from the same country
References
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, entry for Suzanne Aubert
- Sisters of Compassion, Wellington, biography and cause pages
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, cause of Suzanne Aubert
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.