Pope St. John Paul II said, "Marguerite placed her life completely in the hands of God the Creator. Day after day, in a spirit of deep trust, she sought to offer herself with Jesus to our heavenly Father. She understood the meaning of St. Peter’s exhortation: ‘You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come.’”
Welcome to "North American Sanctity," a series on holy men and women, boys and girls, saints and those on the road to sainthood, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Some will be familiar, others less so; but all are inspiring!
By Kimberly Bruce
Called the “Mother of Universal Charity,” by Pope St. John XXIII at her 1959 beatification, St. Marguerite d’Youville (feast day: Oct. 16), foundress of the Sisters of Charity (the “Grey Nuns”), is the first native Canadian to be declared a saint in the Catholic Church.
As a mother and widow, St. Marguerite is a shining example to those suffering with marital problems, struggling as single parents, and those who have lost a loved one, as well as anyone who has faced a devastating setback in their life.
“Marguerite placed her life completely in the hands of God the Creator,” said Pope St. John Paul II at her canonization in 1990. “Day after day, in a spirit of deep trust, she sought to offer herself with Jesus to our heavenly Father. She understood the meaning of St. Peter’s exhortation: ‘You should be living holy and saintly lives while you wait and long for the Day of God to come.’”
Childhood and marriage
Saint Marguerite was born Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais on Oct. 15, 1701, in Varennes, Quebec, the eldest of six children.
When she was 7, her father died, leaving the family in great poverty. Thanks to the influence of one of her great-grandfathers, Marguerite was able to attend schooling at an Ursuline convent when she turned 11.
Returning home two years later, Marguerite proceeded to teach her younger brothers and sisters what she had learned.
At 21, Marguerite married François d’Youville, but it was an unhappy union. The couple lived with François’ mother who did not treat Marguerite well. An illegal bootlegger of alcohol with indigenous peoples, François was often away from home and had no interest in family life.
Of their six children, four died in infancy. When pregnant with her sixth child, Marguerite faced another crisis: François became ill, requiring constant care until his death in 1730.
Empathy for those who suffer
By the age of 29, Marguerite found herself a widow and single mother. But instead of becoming bitter or filled with despair from her losses, Marguerite grew in the knowledge of God’s love for her and His presence.
Feeling empathy for those who also suffered, she wanted, according to the Vatican’s biography of her, “to make known His [God’s] compassionate love to all.”
Marguerite provided for her two sons’ education, and they both ultimately became priests.
She then took a blind woman into her home. Shortly thereafter, other women began to join Marguerite in her service of others. In 1737, these women dedicated themselves to God in the service of the poor.
Marguerite and the women were mocked and taunted by family members, neighbors, and others for their acts of charity. Such undertakings did not square with the social conventions of their day.
They were called, “les grises,” meaning “the grey women” because of their grey attire. The term can also be translated “the drunken women,” which was a jab at Marguerite in reference to her deceased bootlegger husband.
Practice silence
Saint Faustina, too, knew what it was like to suffer from ridicule by others. In fact, she said that if we would all practice silence more often, instead of talking all the time, we would grow in holiness. She wrote:
I see one rule as most important … I put this one in first place, and it is silence … Women are very fond of talking, but the Holy Spirit does not speak to a soul that is distracted and garrulous. He speaks by His quiet inspirations to a soul that is recollected, to a soul that knows how to keep silence. If silence were strictly observed, there would not be any grumbling, bitterness, slandering, or gossip, and charity would not be tarnished. In a word, many wrongs would not be done. Silent lips are pure gold and bear witness to holiness within (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 552).
Matters were made worse for Marguerite when, during a time of her own declining health, her house burned down. Undeterred, Marguerite, who had earned for herself the title “mother of the poor,” made the decision with her sisters to be of even greater service to the poor going forward.
In 1744, Marguerite’s group of women officially became the religious congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal. Three years later, Mother Marguerite was asked to direct the Charon Brothers Hospital in Montreal, which at the time was in debt and in ruins.
The Sisters of Charity rebuilt the hospital and cared for its inhabitants until it, too, succumbed to fire in 1765.
Despite this next devastating setback, “nothing could destroy Marguerite’s faith and courage,” said the Vatican. “She asked her sisters and the poor who lived at the hospital, to recognize the hand of God in this disaster and to offer him praise.”
Mother Marguerite, at the age of 64, began to rebuild a home, again, for those in need. By Dec. 23, 1771, exhausted from a life of total self-giving, she died at age 70.
Miracle and legacy
A miracle attributed to Mother Marguerite’s intercession occurred in 1978 when a woman was healed from acute myelobastic leukemia, paving the way for her beatification and eventual canonization.
Today the “Grey Nuns” continue their acts of charity around the globe as the Sisters of Charity of Montreal; the Sisters of Charity of St. Hyacinthe; the Sisters of Charity at Ottawa; the Sisters of Charity of Quebec; the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Pembroke, Ontario, and as the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart in Philadelphia.
From St. Marguerite we can learn to take our sorrows and sufferings and turn them into empathy for others who suffer. Turning one’s empathy then into aid for others not only provides for us in our own sanctification process but elevates the dignity of those we serve. May St. Marguerite aid us in our efforts.
Saint Marguerite d’Youville, pray for us!
Next in the series: Saint Mother Frances Cabrini, Nov. 13.
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