Foundress of the Oblates of the Heart of Jesus (1820-1885)
Her life
+ Louise-Thérèse was born Le Havre, France and was a distant member of the French nobility.
+ As a young woman, she was educated by the Canonesses of St. Augustine and the sisters instilled in her a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
+ In her early 20s, she developed a bone disease which caused her great pain and which, at the end of her life, would leave her entirely bed-ridden.
+ On September 8, 1843, she made a private vow of dedication to the Sacred Heart and began her lifelong work of spreading devotion to the Heart of Jesus.
+ Having established a catechetical center, orphanage, and a society which encouraged devotion to the Eucharist, she would go on to establish a new religious community—the Oblates of the Heart of Jesus—to assist in poor parishes, orphanages, and to pray for vocations to the priesthood.
+ Although she was confined to her bed for the final years of her life, she was greatly involved in the “Apostolate of Prayer” of the Society of Jesus and, of course, continued to support the work of her sisters.
+ Blessed Louise-Thérèse died on June 27, 1885, and was beatified in 1990.
For reflection
“Together, let us ask [her] to help us recognize the Love of the Heart of Jesus and ceaselessly remind people about it, as she was able to do so well during her entire life.”—Pope Saint John Paul II
Prayer
O God, by whose gift blessed Louise-Thérèse persevered in imitating Christ, poor and lowly, grant us through her intercession that, faithfully walking in our own vocation, we may reach the perfection you have set before us in your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Religious)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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