St. Louise de Marillac – Patron Saint of Catholic Nurses

“Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger and you took me in: Naked and you covered me: Sick and you visited me: I was in prison and you came to me.” (Matthew, Ch. 25, v. 34-v. 36.)

In the early 1900’s Justice Brewer of the United States Supreme Court, a non-Catholic, was delivering a speech at Haverford College, a Quaker institution. He asked the question: “What single organization has done more for the orphan than the Catholic Church? What one, through hospital and asylum, for the sick and the afflicted? If you were to select a single face and form as typical expression of the great thought of charity and kindness, whose would you select other than the face and form of a Sister of Charity?”

Such words, coming from a man of his creed and stature, and before such an audience, are indeed a tribute to this wonderful community of women! Yet, how many who know the Sisters of Charity, associate with them the name of Louise de Marillac, not only the first to wear their habit, but in fact their very foundress?

The setting of St. Louise de Marillac’s life

France of the seventeenth century, in which Louise de Marillac lived, was one of the most picturesque and adventurous periods of all French history, with every manner of colorful behavior and luxurious living at Court. Great names like Richelieu, Mazarin, monarchs like Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV, with their deeds and their intrigues, stand out in glowing colors on the huge tapestry of this era.

But these were also times of bloody wars and times of siege. While the rich and the nobility entertained themselves at the glamorous courts of Paris, starvation, sickness and death stalked the countryside in the surroundings of almost unbelievable poverty.

Amidst the prosperous gaiety on the one side and the depressing indigence on the other, several saintly figures predominate on the tapestry of the time, and they are woven in vivid patterns: St. Francis de Sales, the Bishop of Geneva; Father Olier, the founder of the Sulpicians; St. Mechtild of the Blessed Sacrament; and perhaps a little more than the others, a man with a pointed beard and searching eyes, and dressed in shabby clothes, the figure of St. Vincent de Paul. Beside this great Saint of Charity, and almost obscured by his stature, is the quiet figure of a woman in rough blue serge, a woman whom the modern world scarcely knows That woman is Mme. Le Gras, Louise de Marillac, the great co-worker and apostle of St. Vincent de Paul-who was raised to sainthood in 1934.

Just as it would be difficult to write about St. Teresa of Avila, without mentioning St. John of the Cross, or St. Monica, without Augustine, so too would it be almost impossible to study the life of Louise de Marillac and not include St. Vincent de Paul, for together they founded the Daughters of Charity. Through their care of the impoverished, the sick and the miserable of Paris, and of France, they have become for the Christian world the symbols of charity and the embodiment of the corporal works of mercy.

Biography of St. Louise de Marillac

The records indicate that Louise de Marillac was born at Paris on August 12, 1591, the “natural daughter” of Louis de Marillac and an unnamed mother, whose identity was concealed by her father, perhaps because of her lack of social standing, Louis de Marillac had been previously married and widowed. Four years after the birth of Louise, in 1595, he contracted a second marriage with a woman by the name of Antoinette Le Camus, who already had three daughters and a son, by a previous marriage, who were quite grown up.

Apparently, from what little information is furnished about Louise de Marillac’s early child hood, a time shrouded in obscurity, she lived very briefly with her father and her step-mother who were unhappily mated. We do not know the exact date, but Louise’s father, who was very devoted to the child, placed her in the royal convent at Poisy. Staffed by Dominican nuns and graced by the presence of her great-aunt, a nun noted for her intellectual gifts. There she showed herself to be a very religious girl inclined to solitude and very mature for her age.

Then the narrative of her early life is some what confused. Either her father, for no existing explanation, withdrew Louise from this school in 1602, or as other sources indicate, she, herself, left Poissy at the time of his death in 1604, when she was thirteen years of age. Evidently she was not welcome at the home of her widowed step-mother and so she went to live on her small pension, left by her aristocratic father, at the home of a spinster in Paris who had gathered about her other young girls of the same circumstances. It would seem that none of the aristocratic Marillac family wanted to acknowledge the existence of the young girl, undoubtedly because of the circumstances of her birth.

At any rate, she remained at this spinsters home, working, and learning the art of domestic science, until she reached the age of twenty-two. During this period, the young Louise had a sincere desire to become a religious, and in fact secretly committed herself by promise to become a nun. This personal promise was to plague her conscience in later years. Because of her precarious health, however, her confessor declared to her that she should not become a nun at that time, but that God, undoubtedly, had other designs for her. Needless to say this was a great disappointment for Louise, and advice which she found very hard to follow.

Saint Louise matured into an attractive young lady proud of the name she bore, although somewhat saddened by the circumstances of her birth. One of her many uncles had married a niece of the Queen, and another uncle with whom she seemed to have the most contact, became more and more a trusted favorite of the King. Naturally, the young girl heard much talk about the politics and intrigues of the French Court.

Marriage of St. Louise

Since her desire to become a nun was not to be fulfilled, certain members of her family, perhaps wishing to solve an embarrassing situation for themselves, helped to arrange a marriage for Louise with a certain Antoine Le Gras, a rich man, moderately devout, but much older in years than his wife-to-be. He had a fairly good position in that he was the secretary to Marie de Medici, the widowed Queen of King Henry IV. Louise acquiesced to this suggested match, and they were married.

We know very little about Mr. Le Gras, except that during their married life, Louise was very de voted to him and that he was sick most of the time. Louise had a beautiful home with many servants, and wealthy attire befitting a woman who must frequently accompany her husband to Court. At the end of their first year of marriage a son, their only child, was born and they named him Michael. Louise remained very attached to this son all during her lifetime.

Saint Louise begins her ministry

Very soon St. Louise grew tired and bored with the merry-go-round of social life and entertainment of which she never really felt a part. She continued, however, as she gradually withdrew from the social limelight, to rule her large house hold well, and she maintained the respect and friendship of many people in high places. She began to work among the poor, first occasionally and then on a more systematic basis. She went particularly to visit the sick, and although she had no formal training, she was a born nurse, for she had common sense and a real love for sick people which brings with it the real knowledge of how to alleviate their sufferings.

In 1618, she met St. Francis de Sales, and although she never came to know him really well, he nevertheless, had a profound influence at this time upon her spiritual life. She still harbored the longing to become a religious, and constantly blamed herself for marrying rather than having followed a religious way of life.

On the political scene in France at this time there had been great upheavals. The Concini, who had been running the government after the assassination of King Henry, were themselves murdered and the young degenerate Louis XIII, together with a group of degenerate young men, took over the throne. In the background was the shrewd and crafty Cardinal Richelieu, who finally succeeded in becoming the virtual dictator of France. There also appeared about this time in the year 1610, on the Parisian scene, a man who was to figure prominently in the life of Louise de Marillac, Saint Vincent de Paul.

St. Louise & St. Vincent de Paul

He was appointed by the divorced wife of the murdered Henry IV as Chief Almoner or Dispenser of her many charities at her own court. Monsieur Le Gras, who had been ailing for some time, became very ill, and Louise was so depressed over his condition that she became ill herself. She received small consolation from her religion although she tried incessantly in her prayers and practices to obtain peace of mind. Then one day as she knelt in church, still tormented by qualms about not having entered the religious life, she experienced what she later describes as a vision. A voice seemed to tell her to go on living with her husband, and promised that one day she would belong to a religious order devoted to the service of the poor. She then saw, as in a picture, a house with women dressed as nuns, going in and out. The voice promised her that help would come to her from outside from a man, towards whom she would at first feel an aversion.

On Christmas day, 1625, her husband died, and shortly thereafter everything Louise had experienced in her vision came to pass. She met St. Vincent de Paul, and at first she developed a strong dislike for him, which, of course, soon changed to great devotion. For financial reasons, after her husband’s death, she had to sell her large home and move to a poorer one on the opposite side of the river. Here she was very happy for she was near her son’s school, and she was also close to the religious house established by St. Vincent de Paul. From this house St. Vincent de Paul and his priests set out to do their work in the rural areas of France, areas where Vincent had discovered deplorable conditions of poverty and ignorance.

Louise and St. Vincent were in constant communication with one another, she pleading to embrace the religious life, and he holding her off from making any perpetual commitment. As Vincent and his band preached and worked, they established groups of women from the various districts called Confraternities of Charity, whose members were called Servants of the Poor. As he returned time and time again, however, to these areas, he would discover that many of these Con fraternities had ceased altogether or had lost their early enthusiasm. It was then about three years after her husband’s death, and since Vincent felt that Louise had been tested in many ways, he de decided to use her.

With Vincent’s letters of delegation and a detailed knowledge about these groups. Louise de Marillac set out on her mission of reorganization. When she interviewed the various members there was little that escaped her, and they listened to this unusual woman of accepted social rank with great respect. She breathed new life into these organizations, and when she visited the poor and the weak she entered their lives like an angel from another world. The success of these journeys was phenomenal. She had to address large audiences and the crowds who flocked to hear her were entranced. It must be remembered that it was quite unusual then for women to speak in public, and we are told that on these occasions many men came secretly to hear her message.

Establishing the Sisters of Charity

There are a great many things in the life of St. Louise de Marillac that would bear telling

-how she finally changed from a scrupulous young widow into a mature religious superior

-how she doted on her son endeavoring to make him study for the priesthood and finally acquiescing in the opinion of Vincent de Paul, after he had left the Seminary

-how she travelled extensively meeting with so many disappointments.

-Finally the time came when St. Vincent de Paul thought it advisable and necessary to unite under a common superior the young women, most of them unlettered farm girls, who worked with Louise.

The Community was founded on November 29, 1633, and naturally Louise was chosen as the Superior. She, herself, wrote the rule for the new Congregation, which was indeed a departure from the accepted mode of religious life for women. St. Vincent de Paul thought the rule so all-embracing that he decided to add nothing to it. The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity received the approval of the King in 1657, and of the Roman Pontiff in 1668, eight years after the death of Louise de Marillac.

Their work and their expansion was almost unbelievable. They assisted in the reformation of the crowded, unhygienic hospitals of Paris, and they visited, two by two, the sick in places where even the soldiers feared to tread. They established Catholic homes for foundlings, of which there were several hundred each year, saving them from starvation and mutilation by beggars, to whom they were sold by unscrupulous civil authorities. At St. Vincent de Paul’s respected request they went to the filthy holds of prison galley ships to bind the wounds of the miserable prisoners, working with the patience of saints in the midst of vile remarks from these despairing men.

During the interminable wars and civil battles, they braved the dangers of the battlefield, ministering to the sick and dying. In 1653, eight years before she died, Louise turned her attention to the poor insane. She acceded to Vincent’s wishes and visited the “Little Houses”, as the Paris Insane Asylum was called. It was under horrible management, and over a period of time, the afflicted inmates saw the great reforms which Louise and her Daughters carried out behind those tragic walls.

Finally, after months of suffering, and a life time of charity in action, Louise De Marillac died of gangrene on March 15, 1661. As she lay on her deathbed, St. Vincent de Paul, himself, was se seriously ill and couldn’t come to his spiritual daughter, but he sent the message that she should go on before him, and that he would see her soon in Heaven

Who are the Daughters of Charity?

The Daughters of Charity are a religious order of women who are dedicated to serving the poor and sick. The order was founded in 1633 by St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac in Paris, France.

The Daughters of Charity are known for their simplicity and humility, and they dedicate themselves to serving those in need with compassion and generosity. They work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, schools, and other institutions, providing care and support to those who are most vulnerable.

In addition to their work in healthcare, the Daughters of Charity also engage in charitable works such as visiting the sick and elderly in their homes, providing food and clothing to the poor, and offering education and support to disadvantaged children.

The Daughters of Charity have a strong tradition of service, and they are present in countries around the world, including the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. They are recognized for their selfless dedication to the poor and sick, and they are an important part of the Catholic Church’s mission of compassion and service.

Reflection on the life of St. Louise de Marillac

How can the woman of modern society imitate this shining and inspired saint of Christian Charity, Louise de Marillac, who was canonized by the Church in 1934? The ways are many and the means are manifold. If Florence Nightingale is regarded as the patroness of nursing in general, the St. Louise de Marillac can be regarded as the patroness and model of Catholic nurses in particular, for she certainly preceded the famous British nurse in time and in the scope of her care of the sick and the wounded. Her accomplishment in founding an entirely new uncloistered religious order devoted to the sick and the poor was clearly a labor of divine direction, and one that truly imitated Our Divine Lord, who cured the sick, cleansed the leper and praised the Good Samaritan.

The care of the sick has always been a part of the Christian tradition. Fabiola, the Roman matron, was foundress of the first real hospital in Rome. St. Basil erected a hospital as big as a town. St. John Chrysostom spent all the money he could acquire on building new hospitals and repairing old ones. St. Elizabeth of Hungary fitted out her own castle as a hospital, and even worked with lepers. To St. Louise de Marillac, however, and her great spiritual director, St. Vincent de Paul, belong the credit of an organized system of charity and care of the sick in action, by their travelling the highways, touring the hovels of the poor, and going directly to the individual suffering soul and treating him as an individual.

Today, their orphanages, schools hospitals, and visiting nursing services throughout the world reflect the satisfaction of Christ, Himself who said: “Whatsoever you do to one of these, the least of my brethren, you do also unto me.‘ There is no more noble profession for a woman than the career of nursing for it combines service, personal satisfaction, advancement and real kindness that she can bring to suffering humanity. Women and men, who have not had the chance to embark upon a nursing career in youth, can still engage in the noble work of the practical nurse for which there is an increasing need today.

St. Louise de Marillac Patron Saint of Catholic Nurses

St. Louise de Marillac is often considered the patron saint of nurses because of her dedicated work with the poor and sick, and her role in the founding of the Daughters of Charity, a religious order of women who are dedicated to caring for the sick and poor.

St. Louise was born in 1591 in Paris, France, and she was deeply affected by the poverty and suffering she saw around her. Despite her privileged upbringing, she dedicated herself to serving the poor and sick from a young age, and she worked closely with St. Vincent de Paul, a priest who was well known for his work with the poor.

In 1633, St. Louise and St. Vincent founded the Daughters of Charity, a religious order of women who were dedicated to serving the poor and sick. The order quickly grew in popularity, and Louise became the superior of the Daughters, overseeing their work and guiding them in their spiritual development.

St. Louise was known for her compassion, wisdom, and dedication to the poor and sick. She worked tirelessly to provide for the needs of those in need, and she played a crucial role in the establishment and growth of the Daughters of Charity.

For these reasons, St. Louise is often considered the patron saint of nurses and is invoked for her intercession in the work of caring for the sick and poor. Her feast day is celebrated on March 15th in the Catholic Church.

Even if a Catholic does not rejoice in the unselfish profession of nursing, however, there are many ways in which she can still fulfill the corporal works of mercy in a very concrete manner. Many miss the opportunity to improve their own lives by not volunteering their services to the sick and the handicapped in their own community. One can always take extra courses, so readily available today, and become nurse’s aides, helping in hospitals which are generally understaffed. They can offer their services in times of epidemic or disaster

Anyone with a car at their disposal, can drive a handicapped person in her neighborhood to the clinic for treatment and render that poor soul invaluable aid. They can visit hospitals and cheer up the patients, seeking out those individuals who usually have no visitors, and bring them little gifts, newspapers, magazines, and other items which will help relieve their painful boredom and loneliness. In this manner they will be reliving the words of Christ: “I was sick and you visited me.“

This same program of visitation can extend to prisons, homes for the mentally challenged, when such visitation is allowed by authorities. Kind-hearted groups of Catholics can bring these confused souls some form of friendliness and entertainment, releasing them for the time at least from the dreary confines of their own personal prisons, again echoing the words of Our Saviour “I was in prison and you came to me.”

You could join the parochial St. Vincent de Paul Society, or the Legion of Mary, which tries to fulfill the spiritual works of mercy, and bring Christ to people who are not only sick and impoverished, but blinded as a result of their condition. You can contribute financially to the collections for the poor and needy, and when you visits sick neighbors, who might be fallen-away Catholics, you can strive to have these people receive the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

The lasting Impact of St. Lousie de Marillac

In the tradition of Louise de Marillac, whose principles are those of eternal love of God and love of neighbor, a nursing nun, a registered or practical nurse, a social worker, or a Catholic woman who must care for the sick within the walls of her own home, has to realize at all times the sacredness of a human being. She must have Faith enough to see God in a human soul, every human soul, no matter what the external condition of the body may be. Her tenderness and sympathy must be an inspiring and soothing balm of encouragement to suffering humanity by mercy, by prayer, by deed, and by living the words found in the seventh chapter of Ecclesiasticus: “Be not wanting in comforting them that weep and walk with them that mourn.-Be not slow to visit the sick: for by these things thou shalt be confirmed in love.“

You may also be interested in learning more about St. Louis King of France. and St. Louis de Montfort.

PRAYER TO ST. LOUISE DE MARILLAC:

O God, you are the author of charity and also its re ward, who raised up a new religious congregation in the Church under the maternal guidance of blessed Louise. Grant that we may merit the promised reward in heaven by practicing works of charity here on earth. Through our Lord.

Loving and compassionate God, we celebrate with great joy the faith and works of St. Louise de Marillac. Instill in us the fire of her love, the tenacity of her belief, and the tenderness of her care for the most abandoned. Draw us together into the light of your presence and help us to trust in the power of your Spirit, leading us ever closer to you.

O God, through Louise, you taught us a deeper love and respect for those whom the world oppresses and so we pray: -help us to serve them with respect and dignity.
Christ Jesus, you inspired the daughters of Louise to be women of compassion and empathy in their service to the poor;
-help us to grow in mercy and understanding.
Loving Creator, we thank you for the example of untiring collaboration of Louise in giving flesh to the works of charity we aspire to emulate today;
-may we follow her example in our service to the Church and the world.
Louise transformed adversity into positive energy for the service of the poor.
-help us to see with the eyes of faith and the mind of Jesus.
Loving God, through the intercession of Louise, inspire more laborers to come to the vineyard to mirror the gospel values of justice and love that Louise mirrored in her life;
-may our lives and our service give you glory and praise.

May the God of Louise de Marillac be with us more and more each day, drawing us into ever deep union with the Holy One, quickening our hearts’ desire for love and sharpening our awareness of all that the world suffers. As the Charity of Christ impelled her, may we be moved with urgency to be women of the charism— witness and vision, justice and truth, passion and peace. May our response to the challenges our God and our world place before us reflect Louise’s vision of loving service and may the Charity of Christ impel us. May the blessing of Louise be upon us! Amen.

O Gracious God,
Saint Louise devoted her life
to helping Saint Vincent de Paul
serve the needs of the poor.
She often taught:
“Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor,
honor them, as you would honor Christ Himself.”
I lift up to You the programs in my church
and community that help the needy,
and the people who do the work.
Multiply the donations.
Teach me how to think generously.
Give me a heart that desires to care for the poor
as if I were serving Jesus directly,
and help me to see Jesus in each person
that begs on the street corner or church door.

Saint Louise, pray for us.

Amen.

Short Biography on St. Louise de Marillac

St. Louise de Marillac was a French Catholic saint who is best known for her work with St. Vincent de Paul to establish the Daughters of Charity, a religious order of women dedicated to serving the poor and sick.

Louise was born in 1591 in Paris, France. She was the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, but her mother died when she was young, and she was raised by her aunt. Despite her privileged upbringing, Louise was deeply affected by the poverty and suffering she saw around her, and she devoted herself to serving the poor and sick from a young age.

In 1613, Louise married Antoine Le Gras, a civil servant, and the couple had one son. Tragically, Antoine died just four years later, leaving Louise a young widow with a young child to care for. Despite her grief, Louise continued to serve the poor and sick, and she began working closely with St. Vincent de Paul, a priest who was well known for his work with the poor.

In 1633, St. Vincent and Louise founded the Daughters of Charity, a religious order of women who were dedicated to serving the poor and sick. The order quickly grew in popularity, and Louise became the superior of the Daughters, overseeing their work and guiding them in their spiritual development.

St. Louise de Marillac died in 1660, and she was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 1934. She is the patron saint of social workers and is often invoked for her intercession in the work of caring for the poor and sick. Her feast day is celebrated on March 15th in the Catholic Church.