Leonie Aviat

Léonie Aviat (16 September 1844 – 10 January 1914), her religious name Françoise de Sales, was a Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-founder along with Louis Brisson of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales.

Aviat served on two occasions as the Superior General for her order though in the interim period between the two terms had to grapple with the disrespect on the part of her two immediate successors. The nun's sole focus was on those seeking work while attempting to fuse work and faith as something inseparable that leads to greater living and working standards as a right and part of human dignities. Aviat was canonized on the 25th of November in 2001.

Life

Léonie Aviat was born in Sézanne on 16 September 1844 to shopkeepers Theodore Aviat and Emilie Caillot; she was baptized on 17 September in the local parish church.

When she was eleven, she attended a convent school of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in Troyes as a boarder. While attending the school, she was taught – and received spiritual guidance – from Marie de Sales Chappuis (the superior) and the chaplain Louis Brisson. Aviat received both her First Communion and her Confirmation from Bishop of Troyes, Pierre-Louis Coeur, on 2 July 1856.

Both her parents wanted her to wed a certain rich man, and when Aviat announced her intention to become a religious, her father voiced his opposition. In 1866 she made a spiritual retreat for discernment regarding her future. Aviat made the profession of her vows on 11 October 1871 to Monsignor de Ségur.

The new Superior General demonstrated a clear lack of respect and consideration for Aviat, which others spoke about. Aviat did not complain nor mention it and offered her interior suffering to God. In 1881 this Superior General resigned after a tenure mired with complications and the new one, Louise-Eugenie, sent Aviat to the French capital of Paris to run a boarding school at Rue de Vaugirad. Aviat earned their respect through commitment to her work.

Veneration Aviat's death in 1914 prompted general regard for her as a saint. On 8 July 1936 her spiritual writings were found orthodox. The confirmation of her life of heroic virtue on 1 December 1978 allowed for Pope John Paul II to title her as Venerable. The confirmation of a miracle from South Africa resulted in her beatification. Pope John Paul II beatified Aviat on 27 September 1992. In Manta in Ecuador the Unidad Educativa Leonie Aviat was created after the order merged the two institutions Santa Esperanza School No. 2 and the Frances de Sales Aviat College.