St Marguerite d’Youville

Today we remember St. Marguerite. St. Marguerite was born in Varennes, Canada on October 15,1701. St. Marguerite’s full name at birth was Marie Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais. St. Marguerite had to interrupt her schooling when she was only 12 years old because she had to help her widowed mother. After she had helped her mother for eight years she was able to get married to François d’Youville. Together the couple had six children, sadly, four of them died young.

St. Marguerite’s husband struggled greatly with gambling addiction, he would also sale liquor illegally to the Native Americans, and he would treat her indifferently. Even with all the things her husband had done St. Marguerite still cared for him compassionately until his death during the year 1730.

This time was very difficult for St. Marguerite, due to the fact that she had to take care of two small children and she had to take care of a store to help pay off all of her husband’s debts. However during this time St. Marguerite made sure that she still helped the poor. Once her children were fully grown, she and several companions decided to rescue a Quebec hospital that was in danger of failing. St. Marguerite decided to form a community and she called her community the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of Montreal; and many people would call them the “Grey Nuns” because of the color of the habits that they wore. During this time a proverb began to arose among the poor people of Montreal, “Go to the Grey Nuns; they never refuse to serve.” Over time, five other religious communities have traced their roots to the Grey Nuns.

The General Hospital in Montreal started to become known as the Hôtel Dieu (House of God) and it had set a standard for medical care and Christian compassion. However, when the hospital was destroyed by a fire during the year 1766, St. Marguerite decided to kneel in the ashes, and she led the Te Deum which was a hymn to God’s providence in all circumstances and this hymn began with the rebuilding process. St. Marguerite fought the attempts of government officials who tried to restrain her acts of charity, and she established the first foundling home in North America.

Pope Saint John XXIII, had beatified St. Marguerite during the year 1959, and he called her the “Mother of Universal Charity.” St. Marguerite was canonized during the year 1990 and her liturgical feast day is celebrated on October 16.

Prayer to St. Marguerite

St. Marguerite intercede that we may be able to guide more people to The Lord. Help us to treat everyone with love and kindness and help us to be more compassionate towards others. We ask that you may help us to be more charitable and help us to give away more then what we receive.

Amen

St. Marguerite pray for us

St. Joseph pray for us

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

---

Works Cited

Information (read from, not taken):

Franciscan Media. "Saint Marguerite d’Youville. ”Saint Marguerite d’Youville | Franciscan Media. Accessed 15, June 2021.

Images:

Saint Marguerite d’Youville. June 15, 2021. Saint Marguerite d’Youville - Google Search.