French-Canadian saint to be cannonized- Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis
Echo report published in Aleteia by Philip Koslowski: Vatican confirms miracle for new Canadian saint.
In 1870, she was asked to teach French and needlework in the community’s novitiate in Indiana. Then she stayed briefly at Lake Linden, Michigan, before being called, in 1874, to direct a team of novices and postulants at Memramcook College in New Brunswick. The director was her old family friend, now a Holy Cross priest, Father Camille Lefebvre.
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| Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis (1840-1912) to be cannonized |
Blessed Marie-Léonie worked both in Canada and the United States and will soon be canonized. Her feast day is celebrated on May 4th, in Canada.
On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the Vatican Dicastery of the Causes of Saints officially approved a second miracle that was attributed to the intercession of Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis.
The miracle involved the medically unexplained recovery of a baby girl on November 9, 1986. The baby was born without any signs of life, but after her family prayed for the intercession of Blessed Marie-Léonie, the child began to move and is now a healthy woman.
The confirmation of this miracle paves the way for her canonization, after which she will be called a “saint.” Previously she was beatified by St. John Paul II on September 11, 1984, at Jarry Park, in Montreal.
Who is Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis? Born to a poor family in 1840 in Quebec, Alodie-Virginie Paradis was drawn to the religious life at an early age. By age 13, she joined the Congregation of the Marianites of the Holy Cross and flourished in the convent, taking the name Marie-Léonie.
She was known as a great teacher and was sent in 1862, to St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage in New York. Marie remained at her new assignment for several years, until the United States branch of the congregation split and moved to Notre Dame, Indiana. There she taught at St. Mary Academy for a few years, but was then invited back to Canada to help at the College of St. Joseph, in Memramcook, New Brunswick.
Marie traveled back to Canada and soon enough her joyful example of religious life attracted women who wanted to work with her in a new religious congregation. The Bishop of Montreal heard of Marie and encouraged her to found a new congregation of religious who would aid priests and religious. With the bishop’s support, she established the Little Sisters of the Holy Family on May 31, 1880.
Everyone who met her was inspired by her simple holiness and generous heart.
She died on May 3, 1912, in Sherbrooke, at the age of 72. According to her sisters, she died shortly after supper and said to one of them, “Goodbye, see you in heaven!”
On Wednesday, January 24, 2024, the Vatican Dicastery of the Causes of Saints officially approved a second miracle that was attributed to the intercession of Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis.
The miracle involved the medically unexplained recovery of a baby girl on November 9, 1986. The baby was born without any signs of life, but after her family prayed for the intercession of Blessed Marie-Léonie, the child began to move and is now a healthy woman.
The confirmation of this miracle paves the way for her canonization, after which she will be called a “saint.” Previously she was beatified by St. John Paul II on September 11, 1984, at Jarry Park, in Montreal.
Who is Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis? Born to a poor family in 1840 in Quebec, Alodie-Virginie Paradis was drawn to the religious life at an early age. By age 13, she joined the Congregation of the Marianites of the Holy Cross and flourished in the convent, taking the name Marie-Léonie.
She was known as a great teacher and was sent in 1862, to St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage in New York. Marie remained at her new assignment for several years, until the United States branch of the congregation split and moved to Notre Dame, Indiana. There she taught at St. Mary Academy for a few years, but was then invited back to Canada to help at the College of St. Joseph, in Memramcook, New Brunswick.
Marie traveled back to Canada and soon enough her joyful example of religious life attracted women who wanted to work with her in a new religious congregation. The Bishop of Montreal heard of Marie and encouraged her to found a new congregation of religious who would aid priests and religious. With the bishop’s support, she established the Little Sisters of the Holy Family on May 31, 1880.
Everyone who met her was inspired by her simple holiness and generous heart.
She died on May 3, 1912, in Sherbrooke, at the age of 72. According to her sisters, she died shortly after supper and said to one of them, “Goodbye, see you in heaven!”
A biography published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops: Élodie Paradis was born on May 12, 1840, in the village of L’Acadie, Quebec, the third in a family of six children. As she was growing up, a family friend, Camille Lefebvre, joined the Congregation of Holy Cross, which had recently arrived in Canada. He told Élodie about the existence of a community of religious women, the Marianite Sisters of Holy Cross, whose mission was to serve in institutions established by priests and men religious. She entered their novitiate at the age of 14, taking the name in religion of Sister Marie of Sainte Léonie. She taught in Varennes, in Ville Saint-Laurent, and in Saint-Martin de Laval before being sent, in 1862, to New York, where the Sisters had just accepted responsibility for an orphanage.
In 1870, she was asked to teach French and needlework in the community’s novitiate in Indiana. Then she stayed briefly at Lake Linden, Michigan, before being called, in 1874, to direct a team of novices and postulants at Memramcook College in New Brunswick. The director was her old family friend, now a Holy Cross priest, Father Camille Lefebvre.
She felt drawn to offer domestic service in colleges, which were becoming more numerous in the dioceses of Canada and New England.
She opened a sewing workshop for young Acadian women attracted to the consecrated life. The community evolved, and on August 26, 1877, 14 of the young women donned the religious habit. On May 31, 1880, the new community, based on the model of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was recognized by the Holy Cross Fathers. For nearly 20 years, Mother Marie-Léonie persisted in asking the Most Reverend John Sweeney, Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick, to approve her Institute as an autonomous religious community. In 1895, some of the Sisters went to serve in the diocesan seminary in Sherbrooke. The Most Reverend Paul LaRocque, Bishop of Sherbrooke, welcomed the motherhouse and the novitiate of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and approved the Institute on January 26, 1896.
Mother Marie-Léonie pursued the work of educating and promoting the human and spiritual welfare of the poor illiterate girls who were attracted by the new community. She understood the importance of the service they offered to the diocesan colleges that were struggling to find adequate personnel. She travelled regularly to respond to new needs, but especially to oversee the formation of her Sisters and to resolve the practical problems involved in the management of their communities. In her correspondence, advice on cooking, menu preparation, gardening and building maintenance is given along with advice on spirituality and health. When she died on May 3, 1912, the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family consisted of 38 active foundations in Canada and the United States. Mother Marie-Léonie was beatified in Montreal on September 11, 1984, by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.
She opened a sewing workshop for young Acadian women attracted to the consecrated life. The community evolved, and on August 26, 1877, 14 of the young women donned the religious habit. On May 31, 1880, the new community, based on the model of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, was recognized by the Holy Cross Fathers. For nearly 20 years, Mother Marie-Léonie persisted in asking the Most Reverend John Sweeney, Bishop of St. John, New Brunswick, to approve her Institute as an autonomous religious community. In 1895, some of the Sisters went to serve in the diocesan seminary in Sherbrooke. The Most Reverend Paul LaRocque, Bishop of Sherbrooke, welcomed the motherhouse and the novitiate of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and approved the Institute on January 26, 1896.
Mother Marie-Léonie pursued the work of educating and promoting the human and spiritual welfare of the poor illiterate girls who were attracted by the new community. She understood the importance of the service they offered to the diocesan colleges that were struggling to find adequate personnel. She travelled regularly to respond to new needs, but especially to oversee the formation of her Sisters and to resolve the practical problems involved in the management of their communities. In her correspondence, advice on cooking, menu preparation, gardening and building maintenance is given along with advice on spirituality and health. When she died on May 3, 1912, the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family consisted of 38 active foundations in Canada and the United States. Mother Marie-Léonie was beatified in Montreal on September 11, 1984, by Pope (now Saint) John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.
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