Evangelization

St. Louise de Marillac, co-foundress of the Daughters of Charity

On March 15, the Church celebrates the French Saint Louise de Marillac. Born in Paris in 1591, she dedicated herself to the poor and marginalized, and is co-founder of the Daughters of Charity, together with St. Vincent de Paul, founder of the Congregation of the Mission of the Missionaries of Charity, and St. Vincent de Paul, founder of the Congregation of the Mission of the Missionaries of Charity. paulles, Vincentians or Lazarists.   

Francisco Otamendi-March 15, 2025-Reading time: < 1 minute
Saint Louise de Marillac.

Saint Louise de Marillac, Irmâs, Associaciao Luiza de Marilac (Adriano Fernandes Amorim, Creative commons, Wikipedia commons).

St. Louise de Marillac is the spiritual heir of St. Vincent de Paul and founded with him in 1633 the Company of the Daughters of St. Louise de Marillac. Daughters of Charity. Louise belonged to a family of French nobility, and wanted to become a Capuchin nun. But her parents advised her to marry. She had a son, was widowed, and from then on used her energies to care for the many poor of Paris.

In 1625, when she was 33 years old, she took the priest Vincent de Paul as her spiritual director. The care of her 15-year-old son did not prevent her from working with the poor. He sensed, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the need to regroup young people who were able and willing to dedicate their lives to the service of the poor. His tireless commitment to those most in need continues to be a source of inspiration for the Congregation of the Mission.

The Daughters of Charity are born

On November 29, 1633, St. Vincent, the founder of the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), and St. Louise created and gave juridical form to the Company of the Daughters of Charity. She organized and led the Daughters of Charity in the communities, and he put a lot of effort into their formation. He died in 1660 and his funeral was a great recognition of his work.

On March 15, the liturgy also celebrates St. Raymond of Fitero, Cistercian abbot; the Redemptorist St. Clement Mary Hofbauer; St. Lucretia, martyred in Cordoba after St. Eulogius; St. Zacharias, Pope of the eighth century; or the blessed English priest William Hart, who was hanged in York in 1583 after the conversion of some Anglicans to the Catholic faith.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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