Marie-Eugénie de Jésus

Marie-Eugénie de Jésus (born Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou; 25 August 1817 – 10 March 1898) was a French Catholic nun who founded the Religious of the Assumption and is a Catholic saint.

Born in a country emerging from years of revolutions, war, and political turmoil, Marie-Eugénie saw a need for the radical transformation of society. To this end, she founded the Religious of the Assumption in 1839, a contemplative and apostolic congregation dedicated to transformative education.

Her beatification was celebrated under Pope Paul VI in 1975 while her canonization was celebrated on 3 June 2007 under Pope Benedict XVI.

Early life Childhood Anne-Eugénie Milleret de Brou was born during the night of 25 August 1817 in Metz as one of five children to Jacques Milleret and Eleonore-Eugénie de Brou. Her father, a follower of Voltaire and a liberal, made his fortune in the banking world and in politics. The rest of her life, Anne-Eugénie would refer frequently to this spiritual experience as she recognized it as the original grace from which everything else flowed.

In 1830, due to the financial context of the July Revolution, her father went bankrupt and the family château was sold. The Millerets was forced to separate: Mr. Milleret remained in Metz to rebuild his fortune while Anne-Eugénie moved to Paris with her mother.

After losing her mother to cholera in 1832, Anne-Eugénie was entrusted to the care of a wealthy family friend. While she appreciated the luxurious lifestyle, she could not reconcile it with the spirit of faith and justice that her mother had taught her. In 1835, she moved in with Parisian relatives but quickly found their narrow piety stifling.

Desiring to know God more fully, Anne-Eugénie dove into the works of contemporary philosophical writers who were treating questions of society and faith, including Bourdaloue and Joseph de Maistre. In 1837, a year after her conversion, her path crossed with Father Combalot, who spoke to her about the idea of founding a congregation at the service of the education of young girls with a view to social transformation enlightened by the values of the Gospel.

A tireless foundress, Marie-Eugénie founded thirty religious communities in nine countries.

Death Marie-Eugénie died on 10 March 1898 at 3:00am; she received the Viaticum on 9 March and the Last Rites on 13 February. The Cardinal Archbishop of Reims Benoît-Marie Langénieux celebrated her funeral on 12 March.

Saint Marie-Eugénie de Jésus' tomb is at the congregation's Mother House in Paris, n°17 rue de l'Assomption. One of her relics was also sealed into the new altar of Notre-Dame, after the cathedral's extensive renovation following the catastrophic 2019 fire.

Sainthood The sainthood process opened in the Paris archdiocese in an informative process that Cardinal Jean Verdier oversaw from 1934 until its closure in 1936; her writings received theological approval on two separate occasions on 1 February 1939 and on 8 July 1949. The formal introduction to the cause came on 17 April 1940 under Pope Pius XII and she became titled as a Servant of God.

The miracle for canonization was opened and closed in 2003 in the Manila archdiocese while the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the process on 30 April 2004. Medical experts approved this miracle on 27 January 2005 as did the theologians on 14 February 2006 and the C.C.S. members on 12 December 2006. Pope Benedict XVI approved this miracle on 16 December 2006 and formalized the date for the canonization on 23 February 2007 at a consistory; Benedict XVI canonized her on 3 June 2007.

Miracle The canonization miracle was the healing of Risa Bondoc (b. February 1995) who was born in the Philippines with a rare brain defect.

When Risa was about two months old, medical investigations revealed that the two halves of her brain had not joined, effectively preventing her from walking, talking or otherwise developing. Her adoptive mother, an alumna of Assumption Philippines, brought Risa to Paris, laid her on Marie-Eugénie's tomb and interceded the foundress for her child's healing.

Now an adult, Risa walks, talks, and holds a part-time job. The two halves of her brain have still not joined.