Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
19th-century French Roman Catholic nun and saint / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (31 July 1796 in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île – 24 April 1868 in Angers), born Rose Virginie Pelletier, was a French Roman Catholic nun, best known as the foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.
Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier | |
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Foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd | |
Born | Rose Virginie Pelletier (1796-07-31)31 July 1796 Noirmoutier-en-l'Île, France |
Died | 24 April 1868(1868-04-24) (aged 71) Angers, France |
Venerated in | Catholic Church |
Beatified | 30 April 1933, Vatican by Pope Pius XI |
Canonized | 2 May 1940, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican by Pope Pius XII |
Major shrine | Abbaye Saint-Nicolas d'Angers (Convent and Mother-House of the Good Shepherd Congregation) |
Feast | 24 April |
Patronage | Good Shepherd Sisters |
Influences | John Eudes |
Influenced | Mary of the Divine Heart |
Pelletier was born on an island off the coast of France where her parents had been exiled by the French Revolutionaries. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity who cared for girls and women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. Pelletier formed the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd to expand this apostolate to wherever needed.
Pelletier died in Angers, France, in 1868 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1940. Her feast day is 24 April.