Émilie d'Oultremont

After the death of her mother in 1850 and her father in 1851, Émilie d'Oultremont felt free to realize her religious vocation. On December 8, 1854, the day of the solemn proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX, she experienced a decisive Marian encounter in Bauffe (Belgium). She understood that the Virgin Mary was calling her to unite with her to "repair" the offenses committed against Christ and to bear witness to his unrecognized love. Needing to find no existing congregation that fully met her aspiration to combine Eucharistic adoration with a spirit of reparation, she decided to found her own institute. After gathering an informal group of companions in Paris in 1855, she sought the approval of a local bishop on the advice of Cardinal Costantino Patrizi Naro. It was Mgr André Raess, Bishop of Strasbourg, who welcomed her project favorably. On May 1, 1857, the first official house of the Society of Mary Reparatrix was established in Strasbourg. Émilie took the habit there under the name Mother Mary of Jesus. Exceptionally, her two daughters chose to join her in this consecrated life: Olympe became Mother Mary of Saint-Victor and Marguerite became Mother Mary of Saint-Julienne. Under the impetus of its founder, the institute developed rapidly and immediately took on a missionary dimension. As early as 1859, only two years after the foundation, a first group of sisters was sent to India (to Ootacamund). The congregation then spread to France, Belgium, England, Italy, Spain, as well as to Reunion Island and Mauritius. Mother Mary of Jesus had to endure heavy trials, however, notably the painful loss of her two religious daughters, Marguerite in 1867 and Olympe in 1872, as well as a long period of spiritual aridity. She nevertheless continued her work with unwavering faith, establishing the motherhouse in Rome in 1865 and drafting the Constitutions of the institute with the help of the Jesuit father Victor Ginhac. She passed away on February 22, 1878, in Florence, Italy, at the home of her son Adrien.

The reputation for holiness of Mother Marie de Jésus quickly led to the opening of her cause for beatification. The informative process was opened in the Diocese of Liège on April 16, 1913, and closed in December 1918. Additional processes and inquiry sessions took place in Rome from 1928 to 1930, and then from 1934 to 1935. The writings of the foundress were examined and approved by successive decrees in 1925, 1930, and 1939. The official introduction of the cause was pronounced on July 2, 1941, under the pontificate of Pius XII. The apostolic process, conducted in Rome and Liège in 1942, was validated by the Congregation of Rites on March 8, 1946. After the examination of the Positio submitted in 1989, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues on December 23, 1993, thus proclaiming her Venerable.

The miracle accepted for the beatification of Émilie d'Oultremont is the scientifically inexplicable healing of Sister Anna Maria Berra, a 32-year-old nun belonging to the Congregation of Mary Reparatrix. Suffering since 1953 from a severe postoperative adhesive syndrome following appendicitis and gallbladder surgeries, the patient had undergone a laparotomy in 1956 which had provided only temporary relief. The adhesions had quickly reformed, accompanied by a significant and painful swelling on the right side, severely degrading her general condition. On February 22, 1957, the anniversary of the founder's death, Sister Anna Maria felt a sudden relief: the swelling had completely disappeared and she was able to get up and eat normally, recovering perfect health. This miracle, which occurred in Florence, was validated by the Medical Board of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on October 5, 1995, and then by the theological consultants on January 19, 1996. Pope John Paul II signed the official decree recognizing the miracle on December 17, 1996. Émilie d'Oultremont was solemnly beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 12, 1997, in Saint Peter's Square in Rome. Her liturgical feast is set for February 22, the day of her birth into heaven.

The spirituality of Émilie d'Oultremont is deeply marked by the spirit of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, which she assimilated through the guidance of the Jesuit Fathers. It rests on two inseparable pillars: 1. Eucharistic Adoration: Contemplating Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament to draw from the source of Love and find the strength necessary for the daily mission. 2. Reparation in union with Mary: Offering oneself to Christ to make reparation for the offenses and indifference of men toward his love, by adopting the attitudes of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross ("to be Mary for Jesus"). This contemplative spirituality does not isolate itself from the world but unfolds in intense apostolic and missionary activity, characterized by the leading of spiritual retreats (the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius), catechesis, and commitment to the most destitute. The Constitutions of the Society of Mary Reparatrix, developed by the foundress, were definitively approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1883, a few years after her death. Today, the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix perpetuate this charism of reconciliation and adoration, working in more than twenty countries around the world.