Note: For the next several weeks, I’m featuring women with a connection to the Americas.
The Basics: Born October 28, 1599, in France; died April 30, 1672, in Canada; canonized April 2, 2014, by Pope Francis; feast day, April 30; mother, woman religious.
The Story: Marie Guyart, the fourth oldest in a family of eight children, felt a call to religious life from an early age, but agreed to an arranged marriage. Her husband died two years later, leaving her with a six-month-old son and little means for supporting him when she was just twenty. Marie moved in with relatives, and found a talent in handling administrative tasks at her brother-in-law’s business. But the Lord kept calling. When her son, Claude, was twelve, she became an Ursuline sister, despite the objections of her family and of Claude himself, who attempted to storm the monastery with friends, shouting, “Give me back my mother!”
Time passed. Shortly before her fortieth birthday, Marie was asked to led a group to establish the Ursulines in what today is Quebec. There, she supervised the building of a small monastery as well as a boarding school from Native American and French girls. Marie was tireless in her ministry, creating prayer books and other materials in four native languages. Her legacy earned her the title of mother of the Catholic Church of Canada. And what of Claude? He came to accept his mother’s vocation… and became a Benedectine priest himself. He also edited her spiritual autobiography.
Marie’s Wisdom: “When I see myself becoming powerless, I try to lose myself in him.”
What We Can Learn from Marie: Most of us will never be asked to make a choice between our families and our vocations. Still, Marie’s example reminds us that we must always put the Lord first in our lives. When we do that, everything else falls into place.
To Learn More About Marie: Visit the site for the Canadian Ursulines.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my books, Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith or Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
