Canonization of MOTHER marie eugenie

Letter #2 from Canonization Committee, February 9, 2007

From February 1 - 10, 2007 the Congregation's Canonization Committee is in Rome to make the initial preparations for Blessed Marie Eugenie's being proclaimed a saint later this year. The Committee is composed of Sr. Cristina Maria (former Superior General), Sr. Katrin (General Councilor) and Sr. Maria Paola (Provincial of Italy).

Below is a letter from the Committee addressed to the Sisters which we wish to share with all of you. It was written on February 9th, 2007: the 32nd anniversary of the Beatification of Mother Marie Eugenie.

“I look at the earth as a place of glory for God.”
Marie Eugénie de Jésus

Rome, 9 February 2007
Anniversary of the Beatification of Mother Marie Eugénie

Dear Sisters,

On this anniversary day we write to tell you of our communion with each of you and to unite ourselves with the whole congregation’s thanksgiving for the life and holiness of Mother Marie Eugénie of Jesus. This morning, on this anniversary of the Beatification of Marie Eugénie, we went to Saint Peter’s Basilica to participate in the Eucharist at the tomb of Peter. Our prayer for the Congregation was the same one that Marie Eugénie made so many times for all of us: that our faith be firm and our attachment to the Church faithful.

Thank you for all your reactions to our first letter and for your encouragement. Today, before leaving Rome for Auteuil [the Motherhouse], we would like to share with you the different steps that we took during this first week of work. First, our meetings: As foreseen, we met with Msgr. Duthel to take stock of the situation and to clarify the steps to undertake in the weeks and months to come. On that day, the date of the Consistory had not yet been set. It was only several days later, during our visit to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, that we learned that the Consistory will take place on February 23. Since then we were able to get in touch with one of the other Congregations (Friars Minor and Passionists) to talk about the procedure to follow and about the date of the canonization itself. It is the Secretary of State who will make the final decision about the date. We are not totally sure that it will be communicated on February 23.

During these two meetings, we learned with joy and emotion how much so many people esteem “Mother Milleret,” as “a beautiful figure in the Church.” A third important meeting took place at Quadraro with the Friends and Alumnae of the Assumption of Rome. We want to rely on and work side by side with them to bring off this great event well. Once we’d shared with them the steps we’d already taken, they offered to find out about the places for the different liturgical celebrations and other gatherings that will take place in Rome. They showed their availability once again as well as their joy at undertaking the organization of the Canonization with us.

The other part of our work was the general organization of the Canonization: pilgrimage, medals, holy cards, the scarf [an identifying bandana], key-chains, visits to places for different celebrations and activities (churches, hostels, various function rooms…) Steps also for traveling in Rome (metro, bus, train). We put together a Press Kit that will be a precise information tool for the Provinces and the Press to know Mother Marie Eugénie, the Canonization, the miracle, etc. better. In all these efforts we wanted to respect the two orientations that were taken by the CGPs of 2003 and 2005 [CGP = Congregation General Plenaire, a gathering of the provincials every 18 months]: to give priority to young people and to the importance of local celebrations. We foresaw that one part of the material prepared for the celebration of the Canonization in Rome could be sent to the Provinces: scarf, medals, holy cards. We also wanted to be very careful to emphasize the pilgrimage aspect of the event. That was the spirit in which MME came to Rome herself, at real personal cost, as a sign of her love of the Church and her attachment to the successors of Peter. It’s from that perspective that we thought about a pilgrimage for the young called “In the Steps of Paul, Peter and John,” and another for adults, to be called “Discovering the Early Christians.”

In these next days, we will meet with the General Council to submit our report about the state of the organization of the Canonization. Together we will make the decisions that will permit us to move on to the next stage: naming members to commissions and getting those groups underway as well as getting out the first wave of concrete information to the provincials, as we await the date. Whatever happens, we wish to have all the preparation complete by June.

To end this letter, here’s an extract from Mother Marie Eugénie about the spiritual richness that she found in Rome:

“The apostles have a rank here that is completely apart from all others. They are honored as the heads and foundations of the Church. In Rome one can follow in the footsteps of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and isn’t it a consolation to be able to ask them for help to follow Him also in the pathways of faith and love that don’t leave any marks? After the apostles, founders of the Church, and the martyrs who watered it with their blood, come the founders of the Orders who are also pillars of the Church, and then the humblest, the smallest and the most hidden: Saint Benedict Labré, Saint John Berchmans, and so many others…” (Origins IV, Chapter 7)

Let us joyfully and thankfully continue together along the route toward the celebration of the Canonization of Mother Marie Eugénie of Jesus.

Katrin, Maria Paola and Cristina

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How You Can Become A:

Pope Benedict XVI and the Basilica of St. Peter, Rome

Pope Paul VI proclaiming Mother Marie Eugenie blessed at Beatification: Rome 1975

Chapel at the Mother House, Paris

Beatification Mass,

St. Peter's Basilica,

February 9, 1975

Blessed Marie Eugenie's tomb in the chapel of the Mother House, Paris