Marie Louise Trichet, also known as ''Marie-Louise de Jésus'' (1684–1759), was a French
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
figure who, with
Louis de Montfort
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.
As well as preaching, Montfort ...
, founded the Congregation of religious women called
Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
and since the age of seventeen devoted her life to caring for the poor and the sick. She is also referred to as the ''First Daughter of Wisdom''. She was beatified by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
.
Early life and background
Childhood and education
Trichet was born in
Poitiers
Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...
, on the
Clain
The Clain (; oc, Clen, link=yes) is a long river in western France, a left tributary of the river Vienne. Its source is near Hiesse, Charente.
The Clain flows generally north, through the following departments and towns:
*Charente
*Vienne: ...
River in west central
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 7 May 1684 and baptized at the church of St. Etienne.
[Gaffney, Patrick, "Marie Louise of Jesus", ''Jesus Living in Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort'', Montfort Publications, Litchfield, CT, 1994]
/ref> Her father Julien was a court magistrate in Poitiers and her mother Françoise Lecocq was deeply religious, as was most of her family. She was the fourth child and third daughter, and had seven siblings.
The eldest, Jeanne, struck with paralysis at the age of thirteen, was cured three years later during a visit to Notre Dame des Ardilliers at Saumur. Her younger brother Alexis, born just one year earlier, was ordained a priest in 1710 and later died after volunteering to minister to plague stricken inmates in a prison camp. The youngest of her sisters later joined the Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
.[
Trichet grew up in an atmosphere of religion and education, and when seven years old, was sent to the boarding school at Poitiers run by the Sisters of St. Jeanne de Lestonac to acquire the social qualifications suitable for the upper echelons of seventeenth-century France.][
]
Poitiers
The area of western France where she grew up had a strong Christian tradition. Poitiers is home to Baptistère Saint-Jean, reportedly the oldest extant Christian building in France. And the historic Battle of Tours
The Battle of Tours, also called the Battle of Poitiers and, by Arab sources, the Battle of tiles of Martyrs ( ar, معركة بلاط الشهداء, Maʿrakat Balāṭ ash-Shuhadā'), was fought on 10 October 732, and was an important battle ...
was fought just 20 km north of Poitiers in the 8th century. Poitiers was also important in that in the 15th century the French royal parliament in exile moved from Paris to Poitiers. In the 16th century, Poitiers impressed visitors because of its relatively large size, royal courts, university, prolific printing shops, religious institutions, cathedral and numerous parishes.
Yet the apparent affluence of Poitiers in the 17th century, prior to the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, had a less than royal side. France was plagued by corruption, and rampant poverty. At Poitiers, beggars, cripples and drunks were forcibly sent to a stone building called the General Hospital. The hospital inmates were only offered a common room, one bed for two or three, black bread and a stew of unknown origin – and had to wear a rough gray uniform.
In 1701, Father Louis de Montfort
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.
As well as preaching, Montfort ...
arrived in Poitiers, having been ordained a priest in June 1700, young and highly idealistic priest. He had a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
and the Holy Angels. Thus apart from offering mass and hearing confessions, Montfort used to spend much time with the poor of the Poitiers General Hospital, where he later became the chaplain. He tried to introduce rules and rights for the inmates, but met strong resistance from the hospital authorities.
Meeting Louis de Montfort
At seventeen, Trichet met for the first time Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort who had just been appointed chaplain of the hospital of Poitiers. Marie-Louise offered her services to the hospital, devoting most of her time to the poor and the sick.
["Life of Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet", Company of Mary, Vice- Province of Great Britain and Ireland]
/ref> When she was nineteen, Montfort asked her to come and live there. Given that there was no official position for a governor at the hospital, despite her family background and education, she volunteered to enter the hospital "as an inmate".
Trichet's parents were not pleased with her decision to enter the hospital as an inmate and her mother reportedly told her: "You will become as mad as that priest".[ On 2 February 1703 Marie Louis left her family, consecrated herself to God and received a religious habit from Montfort.
Frustrated with the local bishops, Montfort set off to make a pilgrimage to ]Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, to ask Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI ( la, Clemens XI; it, Clemente XI; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721.
Clement XI w ...
, what he should do. The Pope recognised his real vocation and, telling him that there was plenty of scope for its exercise in France, sent him back with the title of Apostolic Missionary. Thus Montfort left Poitiers and for several years he travelled on foot, preaching missions from Brittany to Nantes. His reputation as a missioner grew, and he became known as "the good Father from Montfort".
At Poitiers hospital
Before leaving, Montfort had established the ''Rule of the Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
'' for the small congregation he had formed with Trichet as the first member. With the rule, to this day the congregation strives to acquire heavenly wisdom by imitating the ''Incarnate Wisdom'', Jesus Christ. The means for imitating Christ is a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
.
After Montfort's departure, Trichet was left alone at the hospital to care for the sick while awaiting his occasional letters of encouragement. For ten years, Marie-Louise would fulfill her humble duty as a nurse. That was the beginning of a four decade effort during which she nursed the sick; gave food to beggars and administered the great maritime hospital of France. The poor people of the Hospital of Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...
in Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019. eventually came to call her "good Mother Jesus".
For almost her entire youth, Trichet lived among the poor and the sick, and served them, following the Rule left by Montfort. Gradually, the duties entrusted to her increased and from 1708 she substituted for the official bursar, and in 1711 she was in complete charge of the hospital. In 1714, she was joined by Catherine Brunet.[
]
Daughters of Wisdom
Bishop de Champflour of La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
on the Atlantic coast just to the west of Poitiers had been impressed with Montfort for some time. Based on the bishop's invitation to Montfort, in 1715 Trichet and Catherine Brunet left Poitiers for La Rochelle to open a free religious school there.["In the Footsteps of Blessed Marie-Louise of Jesus", ''Footsteps'', Spring 2003 (Volume 8, Issue 1), Company of Mary, Vice- Province of Great Britain and Ireland]
/ref> In a short time, the free school, supported by the bishop and following the program and rules laid down by Montfort, had 400 students.
On 22 August 1715 Trichet and Brunet, along with Marie Valleau and Marie Régnier from La Rochelle received the approbation of Bishop de Champflour of La Rochelle to perform their religious profession under the direction of Montfort. At the ceremony Montfort told them: "''Call yourselves the Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
, for the teaching of children and the care of the poor''."
Following the path of Montfort
In April 1716 Montfort had gone to Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
to preach, where he fell ill and died on 28 April 1716. The thirty-two-year-old Trichet thus had to assume the full responsibility for the foundation.
In 1719 the sisters went back to Poitiers and later managed to establish a Mother House in 1720 at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
in the Maison Longue (the long house), now a museum devoted to her life and the Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
. But they had to live in abject poverty for several years, at times living on black bread alone and occasionally an egg. In time with providence and the dowries provided by certain new novices, they acquired land that produced some revenue. As Montfort had predicted, in time more novices arrived and the organization grew.
In the thirty years that followed 1729 Trichet established thirty new charitable communities where the Daughters of Wisdom visited the poor, nursed the sick and taught children, with no payment, but supported by benefactors or parishioners. During the devastating famine of 1739 she begged the authorities to come to the rescue of the hungry.
In the ''houses of providence'' the Sisters lived with orphans, the aged, and the handicapped. At the general hospitals at La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
, or at Niort
Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt; la, Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.
The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the u ...
in Deux-Sèvres
Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019. their services were hired to introduce a minimal level of peace, joy and order to the prevailing filth and disorder.
Last years and death
When she was 66 years old, Trichet undertook a long journey on horseback to visit all her communities, talk with the Sisters and inspire them. She always told the Sisters: "''Your real Superior is Mary; I am but her servant''." That was her last trip, for upon returning to the Mother House at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
she never left again. An accidental fall caused her months of suffering, followed by a final illness from which she did not recover. On her deathbed she called a benefactor to beg that the poor of the parish be cared for, after her death.
Trichet died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
in Vendée
Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442. on 28 April 1759, the same day and location where Louis de Montfort
Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI.
As well as preaching, Montfort ...
had died 43 years earlier on 28 April 1716.
On Trichet's death, the congregation included 174 sisters distributed in 36 communities and the Mother House. After the persecutions during the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
regrouped and grew again. They were awarded medals by the governments of France, Spain, Prussia, and Belgium for nursing the wounded or plague-stricken soldiers of those countries on many occasions.
Legacy and beatification
Montfort and Trichet rest in adjacent tombs in the church of Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
. The Daughters of Wisdom
, image = Hospital. Ste. Justine Hospital BAnQ P48S1P12190.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = A member of the Daughters of Wisdom caring for an injured child in the Hospital Sainte-Justine of Montreal in 1945
, ...
have since grown into a multi-national organization.
On 16 May 1993 Trichet was beatified by Pope John-Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
. In the process of examining her life prior to beatification, one cardinal wrote of her:
:"''She offers an example of how to work for the development of the whole human person in a spirit of sacrifice, looking for no reward, ever open to read the signs of the times with a serene and humble spirit''."
On 19 September 1996 Pope John-Paul II came to meditate and pray on the tombs of Montfort and Trichet in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre
Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (, literally ''Saint-Laurent on Sèvre'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.
Pilgrimage
Some 25,000 visitors per year arrive at the town, for it is the burial place ...
.
References
Sources
* ''Jesus Living in Mary: Handbook of the Spirituality of St. Louis de Montfort'', Litchfield, CT: Montfort Publications, 1994.
* Daughters of Wisdom http://www.daughtersofwisdom.org
* Montfortian https://web.archive.org/web/20071221234604/http://www.montfort.org/English/MLouiseE.htm
* Her life http://www.ewtn.com/library/Montfort/Handbook/Marloui.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trichet, Marie Louise
French beatified people
French nurses
French women nurses
18th-century French nuns
French anti-poverty advocates
Founders of Catholic religious communities
French humanitarians
Women humanitarians
1684 births
1759 deaths
Beatifications by Pope John Paul II
Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II