Feast of St. Marguerite d'Youville. Wednesday October 16, 2024

This Wednesday the church celebrates the feast of St Marguerite d’Youville.
She is a Canadian saint and a patron Saint of the Society of St Vincent de Paul.

Marguerite d’Youville (1701-1771), known as the Mother of Universal Charity. This French-Canadian nun founded the Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal.

Among Canadian saints, Marguerite d’Youville is the one whose life witness, works and spirituality most reflect the mission of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. She was a woman of action, the example of someone who drew from the very Heart of God and made it visible to all persons in need to whom she attended. The cry for help from the poor did not come to her only from without, instead it arose from within herself, a poor person among poor people. For her, the poorest of the poor was the person who had the greatest need of God in order to become a man or woman. Her dream was to liberate the poorest of the poor by teaching him or her, through action, that he or she is loved. By her actions of serving the needy and her compassion for the poor, Pope John XXIII described her as the “Mother of Universal”

She said: “Learn from the heart of the Father the attitudes of love, tender concern and compassion that you need to have to serve the poor, the sick and the orphan.” St. Marguerite d'Youville.

Marguerite d'Youville can sympathize with the unfortunate and painful situation of so many orphans, with adolescents worried about the future, with disillusioned girls who live without hope, with married woman suffering from unrequited love and with single parents. But most especially, Marguerite is a kindred spirit with all who have given their lives to helping others. The power of Marguerite's intercession before God was clearly evidenced when a young woman stricken with acute myelobastic leukemia in 1978 was miraculously cured. This great favor opened for Marguerite the door to the official proclamation of sainthood.

I encourage all of us to attend Mass or spend some time in prayer this Wednesday thinking about the good that this Canadian woman did. May her actions encourage us to help those in need around us today, as best we could.

Deacon John Girolami
Spiritual Advisor
Ontario Regional Council