Louise de Marillac
Feast | March 15 |
---|---|
Attributes | Widow's clothing |
Patronage | Christian Social Workers Disappointing children Loss of parents People rejected by religious orders Sick people Social workers Vincentian Service Corps Widows |
Louise de Marillac D.C., also known as Louise Le Gras, (August 12, 1591 – March 15, 1660) was the co-founder, with Vincent de Paul, of the Daughters of Charity. She is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
Early life
Louise de Marillac was born
Louise remained at Poissy until her father's death, when she was twelve years old. She then stayed with a devout spinster, from whom she learned household management skills as well as the secrets of herbal medicine.
Devastated by this refusal, Louise was at a loss as to her next step. When she was 22, her family convinced her that marriage was the best alternative. Her uncle arranged for her to marry Antoine Le Gras, secretary to Queen Marie. Antoine was an ambitious young man who seemed destined for great accomplishments. Louise and Antoine were wed in the fashionable
Family and personal troubles
During civil unrest, her two uncles who held high rank within the government were imprisoned. One was publicly executed, and the other died in prison. Around 1621, Antoine contracted a chronic illness and eventually became bedridden. Louise nursed and cared for him and their child. In 1623, when illness was wasting Antoine, depression was overcoming Louise[3] In addition, she suffered for years with internal doubt and guilt for having not pursued the religious calling she had felt as a young woman. She was fortunate to have a wise and sympathetic counsellor, Francis de Sales, then in Paris,[2] and then his friend, the bishop of Belley.[4]
Decision on life
In 1623, at 32, she wrote,
On the feast of Pentecost during Holy Mass or while I was praying in the church, my mind was completely freed of all doubt. I was advised that I should remain with my husband and that the time would come when I would be in the position to make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and that I would be in a small community where others would do the same...I felt that it was God who was teaching me these things and that, believing there is a God, I should not doubt the rest.[5]
She vowed not to remarry if her husband died before her.
Three years after this experience, Antoine died. Being a woman of energy, intelligence, determination and devotion, Louise wrote her own "Rule of Life in the World" that detailed a structure for her day. Time was set aside for reciting the
Meeting Vincent de Paul
Antoine died in 1625. Widowed and lacking financial means, she had to move. Vincent lived near her new dwelling.[6] At first, he was reluctant to be her confessor, as he was busy with his Confraternities of Charity. Members were aristocratic ladies of charity, who were helping him nurse the poor and look after neglected children, a real need of the day, but the ladies were busy with many of their own concerns and duties. His work needed many more helpers, especially ones who were peasants themselves and so would be closer to the poor. He also needed someone who could teach and organize them.[4]
Over the next four years, Vincent and Louise often met and communicated by letters. Vincent guided Louise to a greater balance in a life of moderation, peace and calm. In 1629, Vincent invited Louise to become involved in his work with the Confraternities of Charity.[7] She found great success in these endeavors. Then, in 1632, Louise made a spiritual retreat. Her intuition led her to understand that it was time to intensify her ministry with poor and needy persons. Louise, now forty-two years old, communicated this objective to Monsieur Vincent.
Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
In 17th-century France, the charitable care of the poor was completely unorganized. The Ladies of Charity, founded by Vincent years earlier, provided some care and monetary resources, but it was far from enough. They had the funds to aid poor people, but they did not have the time or temperament to live a life of service among the poor.
Vincent and Louise realized that direct service of the poor was not easy for the nobility or the bourgeoisie because of social class. The women took meals, distributed clothing and gave care and comfort. They visited the slums dressed in beautiful dresses next to people considered to be peasants. The tension, between the ideal of service and social constraints, was real. Besides, the families of the ladies often opposed the works.[6] It soon became clear that many of the ladies were unfit to cope with the actual conditions.
While the aristocratic ladies were better suited to the work of raising money and dealing with correspondence, the practical work of nursing the poor in their own homes, and caring for neglected children was best accomplished by women of a similar social status to those served.[8]
The need of organization in work for the poor suggested to de Paul the forming of a confraternity among the women of his parish in
Louise found the help she needed in young, humble country women, who had the energy and the proper attitude to deal with people weighed down by destitution and suffering. She began working with a group of them and saw a need for common life and formation. Consequently, she invited four country girls to live in her home in the Rue des Fosses‐Saint‐Victor and began training them to care for those in need.[9]
Mobility was a major innovation.
At first, the Company served the needs of the sick and poor in their homes. Louise's work with these young women developed into a system of pastoral care at the
After completing negotiations with the city officials and the hospital managers, Louise instituted collaboration among the doctors, nurses and others to form a comprehensive team. The model was highly successful and is still in use today by the Daughters of Charity. Under her guidance, they expanded their scope of service to include orphanages, institutions for the elderly and mentally ill, prisons and the battlefield.
In working with her sisters, Louise emphasized a balanced life, as Vincent de Paul had taught her. It was the integration of contemplation and activity that made Louise's work so successful. She wrote near the end of her life, "Certainly it is the great secret of the spiritual life to abandon to God all that we love by abandoning ourselves to all that He wills."[citation needed]
Louise led the Company of Daughters until her death. Nearing her death, she wrote to her nuns: "Take good care of the service of the poor. Above all, live together in great union and cordiality, loving one another in imitation of the union and life of our Lord. Pray earnestly to the
After increasingly ill health, Louise de Marillac died six months before the death of her dear friend and mentor, Vincent de Paul.[9] She was 68, and the Daughters of Charity had more than 40 houses in France. The nuns have always been held in high repute and have made foundations in all parts of the world.[8]
Spirituality
Aided by her directors, the young Louise had entered into profound prayer in the tradition of the Rhenish-Flemish spiritualists, and had been introduced to the
Veneration
Louise de Marillac was
.Namesakes
- St. Louise de Marillac Parish is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[1]
- St. Louise de Marillac Parish is in Bellevue, Washington.
- St. Louise de Marillac Parish and School are in LaGrange Park, Illinois.
- Belfast, Northern Ireland.[14]
- St. Louise de Marillac Parish in Covina, California.
- St. Louise de Marillac Parish is in Montreal, Quebec.
- St. Louise de Marillac Primary School is in Ballyfermot, Dublin.
- Marillac Medical Clinic for the Poor in Grand Junction, Colorado.
- Parroquia Santa Luisa de Marillac Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana
- The Church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac served Potters Bar in Hertfordshire from 1962 until 2005.[15]
References
- ^ a b St. Louise de Marillac Parish, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- ^ a b c Glass, Joseph. "Ven. Louise de Marillac Le Gras." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 9 Jan. 2013
- ^ a b c d "Louise de Marillac", Vincentian Online Library
- ^ a b Foley O.F.M., Leonard, Saint of the Day, American Catholic
- ^ Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, A.2, p. 1
- ^ a b c Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul international website
- ^ "Life and Works of Louise de Marillac". Via Sapientiae, DePaul University
- ^ a b c "Louise de Marillac", Oxford Dictionary of Saints
- ^ a b c Randolph, Bartholomew. "Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 9 Jan. 2013
- ^ ""History of the Daughters of Charity" West Central Province, St. Louis, MO". Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
- ^ Betanzos, CM, Benito Martinez, "Saint Louise de Marillac, a mystic", Santa Luisa de Marillac, ayer y hoy, XXXIV Semana de Estudios Vicencianos, (Saint Vincent de Paul, Yesterday and Today, XXXIV Vincentian Studies Week), Editorial CEME, Santa Marta de Tormes, Salamanca, 2010
- ^ "St. Louise de Marillac", Catholic Social Worker's National Association
- ^ "Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018".
- ^ Parish of St Louise, Belfast, UK
- ^ "Church History". Catholic Parish of Our Lady and St Vincent, Potters Bar. 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
External links
- Company of the Daughters of Charity
- The Vincentian Center for Church and Society
- Catholic Online Saints
- Vincentian Studies Institute
- Founder Statue in St Peter's Basilica