Canonization of MOTHER marie eugenie

Pope Benedict To Canonize Four, One With Ties To Philadelphia," January 20, 2007

by Joe Murray

Reprinted from "The Bulletin" (daily Philadelphia newspaper), January 12, 2007 issue, page 3.

Philadelphia – Last December, His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, authorized the canonization of four individuals in 2007. Those selected by the Holy Father to ascend to sainthood were Szymon of Lipnica (Poland), Antonio de Santa Ana (Brazil), Charles of Saint Andrew (Holland) and Marie Eugenie Milleret (France). And it is the canonization of Milleret that has Catholics in the Philadelphia area celebrating.

But before one can truly understand why Milleret is so revered in the City of Brotherly Love, he must first understand her story.

Born in the French town of Metz in 1817, Milleret was raised in a household where faith and religion gave way to the reason of man. Her father was a student of the Enlightenment and schooled in the writings of Voltaire. He did not hide the fact that he was a man with little or no religious convictions for his god was his mind.

Milleret's mother, while not as extreme as her father, was also lacking in religious roots. Madame Milleret was more concerned with the social, not spiritual, benefits of Christianity. And it was this observance of cultural Christianity that caused her parents, largely her mother, to have Milleret baptized and receive her First Communion.

Milleret received her First Communion at the age of 12, and even though she was still at a tender age, the spirit of the Lord could be felt swirling around her head.

"I was overwhelmed by a sense of the greatness of God, " wrote Milleret. "As I came back from the altar I was very nervous about having to cross the choir where the canons sat and was wondering how I was going to find my mother in the crowd, when I heard a voice within me say: 'You will lose your mother but I will be more than a mother to you. A day will come when you leave everything to glorify me and serve the Church you now know nothing of.'"

Little did Milleret know that the prophetic voice that echoed in her head during her First Communion would set the course for her adult life.

Milleret's family sent her away to boarding school in 1829 but a bout with typhoid fever caused Milleret to return home to Metz but not before she developed a great thirst for literature.

In 1830, France was in upheaval and the July Revolution caused Milleret's family to lose its fortune. The once wealthy family now had to live on more modest means and this caused great stress between Milleret's parents.

Shortly thereafter, the two split and Milleret left with her mother to live in Paris while her brother Louis stayed with her father in Metz. Milleret was devastated in leaving her brother for they had been best friends. But more hardship would be waiting for Milleret in Paris.

Just three years after hearing a voice that told her that she would lose her mother, Milleret's mother came down with cholera. Within hours, Milleret's mother was dead and she was alone in Paris.

Even though Milleret put on a happy public face, she was battling a sense of emptiness within her soul. "I am alone in the world, in a bitter loneliness of soul, " wrote Milleret. "My thoughts are a troubled sea, they weary me and weigh me down."

It was at this point in Milleret's life that everything would begin to fall into place. Her father sent Milleret to live with Catholic cousins in Paris. Milleret was so disconcerted by her family's narrowness and piety that it caused her to increase her study of the Scriptures.

One day, Milleret's cousin invited her to attend a Lenten Mass celebrated by Lacordaire, a famous French priest among the youth and Milleret was forever changed. It was through this Lenten service that she awoke to the ideals of liberty, love, freedom, equality and justice. Within a year, Milleret had entered the religious life.

As a young and intelligent woman in the 19th century, Milleret faced numerous obstacles. She had decided that the only way she could combat the evils of the world and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be if she could open the doors of education to all. Thus, at the age of 22, she and four other women founded the Religious Order of the Assumption.

And by founding this order, against her will, Milleret's view of Christianity was able to cross the Atlantic and set up shop in Philadelphia.

The Religious of the Assumption came to Philadelphia in 1919 at the request of Dennis Cardinal Dougherty. "While he was the Archbishop of Jaro (Philippines)," stated Sister Clare, Superior of the community in University City for the Religious of the Assumption, "he was exposed to the Order."

Dougherty was so impressed that, when he came to serve the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, he wanted to make sure the Order was represented. The Order now has two locations, one in West Philadelphia and the other in Lansdale. The Order also established a school named Ravenhill.

Sister Clare was pleased when she heard the news that Milleret was to be canonized. The news of the canonization, however, caused the nun to ask herself, "what is Marie Eugenie's message, what would she have to say about the church today?"

The answer to that question? "Just to be simply Catholic."

When asked how she would best describe the core mission of the Order, Sister Clare responded that such a description would have to be centered upon "a strong monastic (prayer) life." Sister Clare also made reference to the Order's willingness to engage the community and not to retreat behind the walls of the convent.

It is this sense of prayer followed by action that has both conservative and liberal Catholics praising the Order. "Conservatives tend to like us because we are rooted in the monastic tradition," explained Sister Clare. "Liberals like us because we understand the present times."

Nonetheless, the one thing that remains consistent is that Milleret had the courage to answer her calling and embrace the life the Lord made for her. It is this courage that is being honored by the church this year.

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How You Can Become A:

House in Metz where Marie Eugenie was born

Preisch -- the childhood home of Marie Eugenie

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Motherhouse of the Religious of the Assumption, Auteuil, Paris

Assumption community in

West Philadelphia

Assumption community in Lansdale