Sainte Marie de la Croix
(Jeanne Jugan)
Vatican biography:
JEANNE JUGAN was born in Brittany, in Cancale (France), on October 25, 1792, during the tumult of the French Revolution. She was the sixth child in a family of eight, in which four died as infants. Her father, who was a fisherman, was lost at sea when she was only four years of age. From then on, her mother was alone to raise her four children. From her mother and her birthplace, Jeanne inherited a lively and deep faith, a resolute character, a strength of soul that no difficulty could disturb. This is what was written about the faith of the people from Cancale: “In spite of the persecution, the people of Cancale kept the faith. During dark nights, in an attic or a barn, or even in the middle of the countryside, the faithful gathered together, and there in the silence of the night, the priest would offer the Eucharist and baptize the children. But this happiness was rare. There were so many dangers" (Fr Bouleuc, Register of Roll, p 28, 30-31, quoted in the Positio, p 10).
Because of the political climate and the prevalent economic difficulties, Jeanne was not able to go to school. She learned to read and write while she learned her catechism, thanks to some ladies of the Third Order of Saint John Eudes who were numerous in the region. Jeanne belonged to the world of the poor and lowly who were subjected to the law of work from an early age. As a child, she prayed her rosary while tending the cows on the high cliffs overlooking the bay of Cancale, a beautiful site which elevated and dilated her soul. When she returned home, she helped her mother with the household tasks. At the age of fifteen, she left to work in a well-to-do family three miles from Cancale where, with her mistress, she came to the aid of the needy. Poor herself, she must have sensed how humiliating it could be to be assisted. She was also put into contact with a social milieu different from her own.
The year 1801 marked an important stage for the Church of France. By signing the Concordat, on July 16th, Napoleon Bonaparte authorized religious freedom once again. A real spiritual awakening ensued. In 1803, in Saint Servan (town of Saint Malo), the Bishop of Rennes administered Confirmation to more than 1,500 people. Many missions, modeled on those given in preceding centuries by Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint John Eudes or Saint Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, were held to support the religious renewal. In 1816, a mission took place in Cancale, followed by another in Saint Servan in 1817. The eloquence of the priests proved to be “so strong, so insistent, so persuasive that soon—from 5 o'clock in the morning and until 7 p.m., our churches were far too small."
It was in this fervent atmosphere that Jeanne heard the Lord's call. When a young man asked her hand in marriage, she replied, “God wants me for himself. He is keeping me for a work which is not yet known, for a work which is not yet founded." And, as an immediate response, she divided her clothes in two piles, leaving the prettiest for her sisters, and left for Saint Servan where she worked as a nurse's aide for six years, thus coming into contact with physical and moral misery. She also asked to belong to the Third Order of Saint John Eudes. She discovered therein true Christianity of the heart: “Having but one life, one heart, one soul, one will with Jesus." This gave her the experience of living an active and a contemplative life centered on Jesus. From then on, she had but one desire, that of “being humble as was Jesus." This is her personal grace, the aspect that characterizes her and to which she would respond with her whole heart.
After a health trial, Jeanne had to leave the hospital and was welcomed by a friend in the Third Order, Miss Lecoq, whom she would serve for twelve years, until her death in 1835. In 1839, she was 47 years of age and shared a two-room apartment with two friends: Fanchon, 75, and Virginie Trédaniel, a 17-year-old orphan. The economic situation was dreadful in Saint Servan. Out of a population of 10,000, 4,000 were reduced to begging. A welfare office was founded by the local administration. Only those wearing around their neck a sign saying “Poor of Saint Servan" were able to seek assistance there. Jeanne was going to descend into the deepest pit of this misery. God had waited for her in the poor; she would encounter him in the poor. One winter's evening in 1839, Jeanne was overcome to come across a poor, blind and infirm elderly lady, who had just lost her only support. Jeanne did not hesitate a minute. She lifted her up in her arms, gave her own bed to her and went up to the attic to sleep. This was the initial spark which set ablaze a great fire of charity. From then on, nothing would stop her. In 1841, she rented a large room in which she welcomed twelve elderly persons. Some young women joined her. In 1842, she purchased— without mon- ey—an old convent badly in need of repair, where accommodations were soon provided for 40 elderly persons. In order to cope with financial problems, and encouraged by a Brother of Saint John of God, Jeanne set out on the roads, with a basket over her arm. She became a beggar for the poor and founded her work on aban- donment to Providence. In 1845, she was awarded the Montyon Prize which every year “rewarded a poor French man or woman for outstandingly meritorious activity." The foundation of a Home in Rennes and in Dinan took place in 1846, followed by that in Tours in 1847 and Angers in 1850. We mention only the foundations in which Jeanne participated, for very quickly the Congregation spread throughout Europe, America, Africa, and then shortly after her death, in Asia and in Oceania.
But this fruitfulness was the result of a total and radical dispossession. In 1843, when Jeanne had been re-elected superior, contrary to all expectations and on his own authority, Father Le Pailleur, the advisor from the very beginning, quashed the election and named Marie Jamet, 21 years of age, in her place. Jeanne discerned the will of God and obeyed. From then on, and until 1852, she supported the work through the collecting, going from house to house, encouraging by her example the young inexperienced sisters, obtaining the official authorizations required for the survival of the Institute. In 1852, the bishop of Rennes officially acknowledged the Congregation and named Father Le Pailleur Superior General of the Institute. His first act was to call Jeanne Jugan back definitively to the Motherhouse for a retirement which would last 27 long years. Mystery of obscurity. At the end of her life, the young sisters would not even know that she was the foundress. But Jeanne, living in the midst of the novices and postulants — who were becoming more and more numerous because of the expansion of the Congregation — would transmit by her serenity, her wisdom and her counsels — the charism which dwelled in her heart and which she had received from the Lord. This she did in a constant spirit of praise. She could say in all truth, “Be little, little, little." – “It is so beautiful to be poor, to have nothing, to depend on God for everything."—“Love God very much; he is so good. Let us entrust ourselves to him." – “Never forget that the Poor are Our Lord."—“Refuse God noth- ing."—“Look on the Poor with compassion and Jesus will look on you will kindness." On August 29, 1879, she fell asleep peacefully in the Lord, after having said these last words, “Eternal Father, open your gates today to the most miserable of your little daughters, but one who has such a great desire to see you! O Mary, my good Mother, come to me. You know that I love you and that I long to see you!"
At that time the Congregation numbered 2,400 Little Sisters in 177 Homes on 3 continents. “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit."
On July 13, 1979, John Paul II recognized the heroicity of her virtues, and beatified her in St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome, on October 3, 1982
Benedict XVI's homily at the Canonization of Marie de la Croix
St Peter's Basilica, Sunday 11 October - also in French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
”Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The brief conversation we heard in the Gospel passage, between a man identified elsewhere as the rich young man and Jesus, begins with this question (cf Mk 10, 17-30). We do not have many details about this anonymous figure; yet from a few characteristics we succeed in perceiving his sincere desire to attain eternal life by leading an honest and virtuous earthly existence. In fact he knows the commandments and has observed them faithfully from his youth. Yet, all this which is of course important is not enough. Jesus says he lacks one thing, but it is something essential. Then, seeing him well disposed, the divine Teacher looks at him lovingly and suggests to him a leap in quality; he calls the young man to heroism in holiness, he asks him to abandon everything to follow him: "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor... and come, follow me" (v 21).
"Come, follow me". This is the Christian vocation which is born from the Lord's proposal of love and can only be fulfilled in our loving response. Jesus invites his disciples to give their lives completely, without calculation or personal interest, with unreserved trust in God. Saints accept this demanding invitation and set out with humble docility in the following of the Crucified and Risen Christ. Their perfection, in the logic of faith sometimes humanly incomprehensible, consists in no longer putting themselves at the centre but in choosing to go against the tide, living in line with the Gospel. This is what the five Saints did who are held up today with great joy for the veneration of the universal Church: Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Francisco Coll y Guitart, Jozef Damien de Veuster, Rafael Arnáiz Barón and Mary of the Cross (Jeanne Jugan). In them we contemplate the Apostle Peter's words fulfilled: "Lo, we have left everything and followed you" (v 28), and Jesus' comforting reassurance: "There is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time... with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life" (v 29-30). ...
By her admirable work at the service of the most deprived elderly, St Mary of the Cross is also like a beacon to guide our societies which must always rediscover the place and the unique contribution of this period of life. Born in 1792 at Cancale in Brittany, Jeanne Jugan was concerned with the dignity of her brothers and sisters in humanity whom age had made more vulnerable, recognizing in them the Person of Christ himself. "Look upon the poor with compassion", she would say, "and Jesus will look kindly upon you on your last day". Jeanne Jugan focused upon the elderly a compassionate gaze drawn from her profound communion with God in her joyful, disinterested service, which she carried out with gentleness and humility of heart, desiring herself to be poor among the poor. Jeanne lived the mystery of love, peacefully accepting obscurity and self-emptying until her death. Her charism is ever timely while so many elderly people are suffering from numerous forms of poverty and solitude and are sometimes also abandoned by their families. In the Beatitudes Jeanne Jugan found the source of the spirit of hospitality and fraternal love, founded on unlimited trust in Providence, which illuminated her whole life. This evangelical dynamism is continued today across the world in the Congregation of Little Sisters of the Poor, which she founded and which testifies, after her example, to the mercy of God and the compassionate love of the Heart of Jesus for the lowliest. May St Jeanne Jugan be for elderly people a living source of hope and for those who generously commit themselves to serving them, a powerful incentive to pursue and develop her work!
Dear brothers and sisters, let us thank the Lord for the gift of holiness which shines out in the Church today with unique beauty. While I greet with affection each one of you Cardinals, Bishops, civil and military authorities, priests, men and women religious and members of the lay faithful of various nationalities who are taking part in this solemn Eucharistic celebration I would like to address to all the invitation to let yourselves be attracted by the luminous examples of these Saints, to let yourselves be guided by their teaching so that our entire life may become a song of praise to God's love. May their heavenly intercession obtain for us this grace and, especially, the motherly protection of Mary, Queen and Mother of humanity. Amen.”
Pape St Jean Paul II's homily at the Beatification of Marie de la Croix
St Peter's Basilica, Sunday 3 October 1982 - also in Portuguese
”Cari fratelli e sorelle!
1. Grande è la gioia della Chiesa per l’elevazione agli onori degli altari di alcuni luminosi suoi figli: il Beato Salvatore Lilli, dei Frati Minori, e la Beata Jeanne Jugan, Fondatrice delle Piccole Sorelle dei Poveri. Un italiano ed una francese, al primo dei quali sono associati sette cristiani della Turchia Orientale (Armenia Minore), martiri della fede.
È significativo che la Beatificazione del Padre Salvatore Lilli, missionario francescano della Custodia della Terra Santa e parroco di Mujuk-Deresi, avvenga proprio oggi, vigilia della festa di san Francesco d’Assisi.
Nel settimo centenario della morte del Santo di Assisi, nel 1926, il mio predecessore Pio XI volle sottolineare l’unione che lega il Serafico san Francesco alla terra di Gesù, beatificando otto francescani della Custodia, uccisi a Damasco nel 1860. Oggi, nell’anno otto volte centenario della nascita di san Francesco, un altro suo figlio, anch’egli impegnato pastoralmente in terra d’Oriente, è elevato agli onori degli altari, insieme a sette suoi parrocchiani martiri.
2. La cronologia del beato Salvatore è semplice, ma ricca di fatti che attestano il suo grande amore a Dio ed ai fratelli; essa culmina col martirio che venne a coronare una vita di fedeltà alla vocazione francescana e missionaria. Dei sette Soci nel martirio conosciamo i nomi, le famiglie e l’ambiente di vita: erano umili contadini e ferventi cristiani, provenienti da una stirpe che ha conservato attraverso i secoli integra la propria fedeltà a Dio ed alla Chiesa, nonostante momenti difficili ed a volte anche drammatici.
Fra quella gente umile il giovane missionario si immerse con dedizione totale, realizzando in breve tempo quanto poteva sembrare impensabile agli altri. Fondò tre nuovi villaggi per riunire i nuclei familiari dispersi, allo scopo di meglio proteggerli ed istruirli; provvide all’acquisto di un vasto terreno per dare un lavoro ed un pane a chi ne era privo e promosse con tenacia l’istruzione dei giovani. Soprattutto impresse un ritmo più intenso alla vita religiosa dei suoi parrocchiani, che si sentivano trascinati dal suo esempio, dalla sua pietà e dalla sua generosità; i suoi preferiti erano gli ammalati, i poveri, i bambini.
Saggio consigliere e solerte promotore di opere sociali, era aperto a tutti: cattolici, ortodossi, musulmani ed a tutti sapeva offrire, col sorriso, il suo servizio; per questo era particolarmente amato dai suoi fedeli, stimato e rispettato dagli altri.
Durante poi l’imperversare del colera, il suo apostolato si illuminò di carità eroica: fu nello stesso tempo sacerdote e medico. Incurante del contagio, passava di casa in casa assistendo moralmente e materialmente gli ammalati. In questa circostanza scrisse alla sorella, religiosa Trinitaria: “Mi sentivo un tale coraggio che l’andare presso il coleroso, soccorrerlo, amministrargli medicine, ecc., mi sembravano cose ordinarie”. E ne indicava la chiara motivazione: il sacerdote pieno di fede in Dio non teme i pericoli e “corre ad alleviare il misero fratello che tante volte si trova abbandonato dai suoi più cari” (Lettera alla sorella Suor Maria Pia, religiosa Trinitaria, 4 dicembre 1890).
Quando insorsero con violenza i sintomi premonitori della tempesta che si avvicinava minacciosa, i confratelli esortarono il Padre Salvatore a riparare in luoghi più sicuri. Gli stessi abitanti della zona, preoccupati per la vita del loro Padre, insistettero perché si ponesse in salvo. La risposta di Padre Lilli fu calma e decisa: “Non posso abbandonare le mie pecorelle; preferisco morire con loro, se è necessario” (Positio super Martyrio, Summarium, teste III, ad art. 16, p. 36); e rimase nella stazione missionaria.
Il 19 novembre 1895, i militari entrarono nella casa parrocchiale e il comandante pose subito l’alternativa: o rinnegare Cristo, o morire. Chiara e ferma fu la risposta del sacerdote che dovette per questo subire una prima esplosione di violenza: alcuni colpi di baionetta che ne fecero scorrere il sangue.
Tre giorni dopo, il religioso e sette suoi parrocchiani furono condotti via dalla truppa; marciarono per due ore; vicino ad un torrente furono fatti fermare ed il colonnello propose per l’ultima volta di scegliere fra l’abiura e la morte: “All’infuori di Cristo non riconosco alcuno”, disse il Padre. Non meno nobile fu la risposta degli altri Martiri: “Uccideteci, ma non rinnegheremo la nostra religione” (Ivi., teste V, p. 53 ad 8).
Per primo fu ucciso il beato Salvatore, trafitto dalle baionette dei soldati: immediatamente dopo, gli altri sette subirono la medesima sorte.
3. Questo missionario francescano ed i suoi sette fedeli parlano con eloquenza incisiva al mondo di oggi: sono per tutti noi un salutare richiamo alla sostanza del cristianesimo. Quando le circostanze della vita ci pongono di fronte alle scelte fondamentali, fra valori terreni e valori eterni, gli otto Beati Martiri ci insegnano come si vive il Vangelo, anche nelle contingenze più difficili.
Il riconoscere Gesù Cristo come Maestro e Redentore implica l’accettazione piena di tutte le conseguenze che nella vita derivano da tale atto di fede. I Martiri, elevati oggi agli onori degli altari, vanno onorari imitandone l’esempio di fortezza e di amore a Cristo. La loro testimonianza e la grazia che li ha assistiti sono per noi motivo di coraggio e di speranza: ci assicurano che è possibile, di fronte alle più ardue difficoltà, seguire la legge di Dio e superare gli ostacoli che si incontrano nel viverla e metterla in pratica.
I nostri beati Martiri hanno vissuto in prima persona le parole rivolte da Gesù ai suoi discepoli: “Chiunque mi renderà testimonianza davanti agli uomini, gli renderò testimonianza davanti al Padre mio che è nei cieli” (Mt 10,32). Il beato Salvatore ed i suoi compagni hanno subìto la morte per rendere la loro eroica testimonianza a Cristo di fronte al mondo: il Signore ha reso loro la sua testimonianza davanti al Padre con la vita eterna.
Questa lezione, insieme a quella della carità eroica della Beata Jeanne Jugan, sia di sprone a tutti i battezzati per una vita cristiana sempre più coerente e sempre più generosa al servizio del Signore, della Chiesa e dell’uomo.
4. Et exaltavit humiles! Ces paroles bien connues du Magnificat remplissent mon esprit et mon cœur de joie et d’émotion, alors que je viens de proclamer bienheureuse la très humble fondatrice des Petites Sœurs des Pauvres. Je rends grâce au Seigneur d’avoir réalisé ce que le Pape Jean XXIII avait légitimement espéré et ce que Paul VI avait si ardemment désiré. Certes, on pourrait appliquer le texte cité tout à l’heure aux innombrables disciples du Christ béatifiés ou canonisés par l’autorité suprême de l’Eglise. Cependant, la lecture attentive de la Position sur les vertus de Jeanne Jugan, comme les récentes biographies consacrées à sa personne et à son épopée de charité évangélique, m’inclinent à dire que Dieu ne pouvait glorifier plus humble servante. Je ne crains pas, chers pèlerins, de vous encourager à lire ou à relire les ouvrages qui parlent si bien de l’héroïque humilité de la bienheureuse Jeanne, comme de l’admirable sagesse divine, qui dispose avec patience et discrétion les événements destinés à favoriser la germination d’une vocation exceptionnelle et l’éclosion d’une œuvre nouvelle, à la fois ecclésiale et sociale.
5. Cela dit, je voudrais méditer avec vous et pour vous sur l’actualité du message spirituel de la nouvelle bienheureuse. Jeanne nous invite tous – et je cite les termes de la Règle des Petites Sœurs – “à communier à la beatitude de la pauvreté spirituelle, acheminant vers le dépouillement total qui livre une âme à Dieu”. Elle nous y invite beaucoup plus par sa vie que par les quelques paroles conservées d’elle et marquées du sceau de l’Esprit Saint, telles que celles-ci: “C’est si beau d’être pauvre, de ne rien avoir, de tout attendre du Bon Dieu”. Consciente et joyeuse de sa pauvreté, elle compte totalement sur la divine Providence, qu’elle reconnaît à l’œuvre dans sa propre vie et dans celle des autres. Cette confiance absolue n’est pas pour autant inactive. Avec le courage et la foi qui caractérisent les femmes de son terroir natal, elle n’hésite pas à “mendier à la place des pauvres qu’elle accueille”. Elle se veut leur sœur, leur “Petite Sœur”. Elle veut s’identifier à tout ce monde des anciens souvent mal portants, parfois bien délaissés. N’est-ce pas l’Evangile à l’état pur?
N’est-ce pas la voie que le Tiers-Ordre de saint Jean Eudes lui avait enseignée: “.. n’avoir qu’une vie, qu’un cœur, qu’une âme, qu’une volonté avec Jésus” pour rejoindre ceux que Jésus a toujours préférés: les petits et les pauvres? Grâce à ses exercices quotidiens de piété – longue oraison silencieuse, participation au Sacrifice eucharistique et communion au Corps du Christ plus fréquente que de coutume en cette époque, récitation méditée du rosaire qui ne la quittait pas, et cet agenouillement fervent devant les stations du chemin de la croix – l’âme de Jeanne était véritablement plongée dans le mystère du Christ Rédempteur, spécialement dans sa passion et sa croix. Son nom de religion – Sœur Marie de la Croix – en est le symbole réel et émouvant. Depuis le hameau natal des Petites-Croix (coïncidence ou présage?) jusqu’à son départ de ce monde, le 29 août 1879, la vie de cette fondatrice est comparable à un long et très fécond chemin de croix, vécu dans la sérénité et la joie selon l’Evangile. Comment ne pas souligner ici que, quatre ans après la naissance de l’Œuvre, Jeanne fut victime d’immixtions abusives et extérieures au groupe de ses premières compagnes? Elle se laissa dépouiller de sa charge de Supérieure, et un peu plus tard elle accepta de rentrer à la Maison-Mère pour une retraite qui durera vingt-sept années, sans la moindre protestation. En mesurant pareils événements, le mot d’héroïsme vient de lui-même à l’esprit. Saint Jean Eudes, son maître spirituel, disait: “La vraie mesure de la sainteté, c’est l’humilité”. En recommandant souvent aux Petites Sœurs: “Soyez petites, bien petites! Gardez l’esprit d’humilité, de simplicité! Si nous venions à nous croire quelque chose, la Congrégation ne ferait plus bénir le Bon Dieu, nous tomberions”, Jeanne livrait en vérité sa propre expérience spirituelle. Et dans sa longue retraite à la Tour Saint-Joseph, elle exerça certainement sur de nombreuses générations de novices et de Petites Sœurs une influence décisive, imprimant son esprit à la Congrégation par le rayonnement silencieux et éloquent de sa vie. A notre époque, l’orgueil, la recherche de l’efficacité, la tentation des moyens puissants ont facilement cours dans le monde et parfois, hélas, dans l’Eglise. Ils font obstacle à l’avènement du royaume de Dieu. C’est pourquoi la physionomie spirituelle de Jeanne Jugan est capable d’attirer les disciples du Christ et de remplir leurs cœurs de simplicité et d’humilité, d’espérance et de joie évangélique, puisées en Dieu et dans l’oubli de soi. Son message spirituel peut entraîner les baptisés et les confirmés à une redécouverte et à une pratique du réalisme de la charité qui est étonnamment efficace dans une vie de Petite Sœur ou de laïc chrétien lorsque le Dieu d’Amour et de Miséricorde y règne pleinement.
6. Jeanne Jugan nous a également laissé un message apostolique tout à tait d’actualité. On peut dire qu’elle avait reçu de l’Esprit comme une intuition prophétique des besoins et des aspirations profondes des personnes âgées: ce désir d’être respectees, estimées, aimées; cette appréhension de la solitude en même temps que le souhait d’un espace de liberté et d’intimité; cette nostalgie de se sentir encore utiles; et très souvent, une volonté d’approfondir les choses de la foi et d’en mieux vivre. J’ajouterais que, sans avoir lu et médité les beaux textes de “Gaudium et Spes”, Jeanne était déjà en accord secret avec ce qu’ils disent de l’établissement d’une grande famille humaine où tous les hommes se traitent comme des frères er partagent les biens de la création selon la règle de la justice, inséparable de la charité. Si les systèmes de sécurité sociale actuellement en vigueur ont supprimé les misères du temps de Jeanne Jugan, la détresse des personnes âgées se rencontre encore en maints pays où œvrent ses Filles. Et même dans les régions où ils existent, ces systèmes de prévoyatice ne procurent pas toujours aux anciens ce type de maisons vraiment familiales qui correspondraient à leur attente, comme à leurs besoins corporels et spirituels. On le voit: dans un monde où le nombre des personnes âgées va croissant – le récent Congrès international de Vienne s’en est préoccupé – l’actualité du message apostolique de Jeanne Jugan et de ses Filles est hors de doute. Dès les premières années, la fondatrice a voulu que sa Congrégation, loin de se limiter à l’ouest de la France, devienne un véritable réseau de maisons familiales, où chaque personne soit accueillie, honorée, et même – selon les possibilités individuelles – promue à un épanouissement de son existence. L’actualité de la mission inaugurée par la bienheureuse est si vraie que les demandes d’admission et de fondation ne cessent d’affluer. A sa mort, deux mille quatre cents Petites Sœurs étaient au service des personnes pauvres et âgées, en dix pays. Aujourd’hui, elles sont quatre mille quatre cents, réparties à travers trente nations et sur les cinq continents. L’Eglise tout entière et la société elle-même ne peuvent qu’admirer et applaudir la merveilleuse croissance de la toute petite semence évangélique jetée en terre bretonne, voici bientôt cent cinquante ans par la très humble Cancalaise, si pauvre de biens mais si riche de foi!
7. Puisse la béatification de leur très chère fondatrice apporter aux Petites Sœurs des Pauvres un nouvel élan de fidélité au charisme spirituel et apostolique de leur Mère! Puisse la répercussion de cet événement à travers toutes les fondations éclairer et décider de nombreuses jeunes filles à rejoindre les rangs des Petites Sœurs! Puisse la glorification de leur compatriote être pour les paroissiens de Cancale et pour tous les diocésains de Rennes un appel vigoureux à la foi et à la charité évangéliques! Puisse enfin cette béatification devenir pour les personnes âgées du monde entier une source tonifiante de joie et d’espérance, grâce au témoignage solennellement reconnu de celle qui les a tant aimés au nom de Jésus-Christ et de son Eglise!”