I first heard about the life of Saint Marguerite Bourgeous is when I was on team for the first time and our table partner asked me if we could have her as our table saint. Her granddaughter was receiving her confirmation at the time and chose Saint Marguerite Bourgeous as her confirmation name. Today I will say a prayer for Jan and her granddaughter.
Saint Marguerite Bourgeous was born on April 17, 1620 in Aube, France. She was the sixth of twelve children. Her mother died when she was 19 and she cared for her younger siblings and then her dad died when she was 27. With her siblings raised, she prayed to know what to do with her life. At that time the governor of Montreal was in France and looking for teachers in Canada. He invited Marguerite to come to Montreal to teach religion classes. She agreed and lived in Canada the rest of her life.
Marguerite sailed to Canada in 1653. She began construction on a chapel to honor Our Lady of Good Help and she opened her first school in 1658. The following year she returned to France to recruit more teachers and returned with four. The next year she went back to France and brought back six more teachers. These women became the first sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. The sisters helped people survive, opened a vocational school, and taught young people how to run a farm. The congregation grew to 18 sisters, 7 of them Canadian. The opened missions and two sisters taught a the Native American mission. Marguerite received the first two Native American women into the congregation.
Mother Marguerite handed over the congregation to her successor in 1693, Marie Barbier, the first Canadian to join the order. The religious rule was approved by the Church in 1698. Marguerite spent her last few years praying and writing an autobiography. On December 31, 1699, one of her young sisters was dying. Mother Marguerite asked the Lord to take her life instead. The morning of January 1, 1700, the sister was completely well and Mother Marguerite had a raging fever. She died 12 days later. She was canonized on October 31, 1982 by Pope John Paul II.
"Our Lady's love is like a stream that has its source in the Eternal Fountains, quenches the thirst of all, can never be drained, and ever flows back to its Source."
Saint Marguerite Bourgeous is the patron saint of:
- against death of parents
- against impoverishment
- against poverty
- people rejected by religious orders
- poor people
Reading about how Saint Marguerite Bourgeous died reminds of a quote I read yesterday. I am reminded that I should not be afraid to ask the Lord for something. He will give you what you need. Here is the quote from Pope Benedict XVI at his World Youth Day address from 2010:
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