Marie-Josephine-Amélie Soulacroix (Marseille, August 14, 1820 - Ecully, September 26, 1894), was a French philanthropist and charity worker. Daughter of a rector of the Académie of Lyons, on June 23, 1841, she married the lawyer, littérateur and philanthropist Antoine Frédéric Ozanam in the church of Saint-Nizier in Lyons. The marriage was a very happy one and there was one child, Marie, born in 1845. Ozanam's naturally weak constitution fell a prey to

consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...

, which he tried to cure by visiting

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he had been born, but on the sea voyage back to France his condition worsened and he died at

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

on September 8, 1853. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in the cathedral church

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

in 1997. Only 32 at the time of her husband's death, Amélie never remarried and was long to outlive him. She died after a short illness at the family home at Ecully, a town to the west of Lyons, on September 26, 1894 and her funeral took place at the parish church there. In the intervening years she was to emerge as a strong figure in her own right, actively supporting many good causes, including the missionary work of Cardinal

Charles Lavigerie Charles Martial Allemand Lavigerie, M. Afr. (31 October 1825 – 26 November 1892) was a French Catholic prelate and missionary who served as Archbishop of Carthage and Primate of Africa from 1884 to 1892. He previously served as Archbishop o ...

and the Oeuvre du Bon-Pasteur.La Semaine religieuse du diocèse de Lyon, 5 octobre 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soulacroix, Amelie 1820 births 1894 deaths 19th-century French philanthropists 19th-century women philanthropists French women philanthropists