Mother Henriette Delille

Religious, Foundress

To appreciate Henriette Delille accomplishments, it is important to remember what life was like in the 1800’s.  In a growing young country, there were many financial, economic and social opportunities for ambitious white men.  White women had fewer opportunities.  They were unable to vote and had few education options.  Most married and raised a family.  Now, try to image what life was like for slaves. Forbidden by law to learn to read or write, they could be sold or beaten at the whim of the master.  Some were able to buy their freedom or were freed by their masters. Some freed slaves owned property and even had slaves themselves. Nonetheless, they were still limited by their skin color.

In New Orleans there was another class of people called “free people of color”.  These were free people of mixed race.  They were not slaves but were never fully accepted by white society.  Women of color were not legally able to marry outside their racial group yet marrying within their class meant their own children would have few opportunities. Many free women of color saw an chance to help their children have a better life by not marrying at all but by becoming the mistresses of wealthy white men.  If being white was the ‘key’ to success, then their light-skinned children would have far more opportunities for advancement. The children coulc and often were acknowledge by their fathers, given their father’s name, baptized, educated and in some cases heirs to their fathers estates.  The daughters would do as their mothers and form liaisons with wealthy white men.

Henriette was born in 1812, the youngest of three children.  Her mother and grandmother had formed liaisons with wealthy white men.  Henriette grew up surrounded by a large extended family. She was raised to take her place as a mistress as had the generations before her. God had other plans for young Henriette.

In 1824, Henriette met Sister St. Marthe Fontier, a French nun who had opened a school for free people of color.  Sister St. Marthe taught the children during the day and their elders at night.  Her instructions included the teachings of the Catholic church as well as reading and writing.  Henriette and several other young girls were inspired by Sister to teach religion to the slaves.  Henriette refused to carry on the tradition of being a mistress and had found her life’s work.  She prayed, visited the sick and taught religion.

In 1835, Henriette sold some property she had inherited and with two other women set out to establish a community of black Sisters .   They named the new community the Sisters of the Presentation. This attempt ended in failure because of a law that made it illegal for white and blacks to establish close contact with one another.  One of the founding members, Marie Jeanne Aliquot was a white woman from France.

Henriette had the support of the Bishop of New Orleans and Father Etienne Rousslon. Many other people in the city thought the idea of black nuns was ridiculous.  In 1842, Henriette and Juliette Gaudin began again and established the Sisters of the Holy Family.  

The sisters worked among the poor and needy. They often went to bed hungry, having given their food away. Mother Henriette was responsible for the physical and spiritual well-being of her community.  During these years of constant work and worry, her health was bad but with God’s grace and strength she was able to continue her work. 

It wasn’t until November 21, 1852 that the sisters were able to take private vows to ’dedicate the rest of their lives to the service of God, the Church and the poor’. Mother Henriette died in 1862 at the age of 50.  At her death there were 12 sisters in the community.  By 1865, eight women had left the community.  It seemed as if the community  would fail.  It wasn’t until 1869, seven years after their Foundress death, that the small group  received a rule, were able to wear a habit and made public vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Eventually God blessed the community with new members and it grew. The Sisters of the Holy Family operate schools, care for the elderly and the very young.  Mother Henrietta’s cause for canonization was introduced in 1989.  

For more information see:

The Sisters of the Holy Family  www.sistersoftheholyfamily.com

Or

“Heroic Catholic of the Twentieth Century”

By Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW

New Hope Publishing, New Hope, KY.

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Andre Bessette
Saint and wonder-worker

When Alfred Bessette was born, he was so frail that his parish priest immediately baptized him. The priest thought that it was possible that little Alfred would not live long enough to be baptized in the church.  Only God knew that this frail baby would grow up to be a hard worker, a humble religious and a saint. 

Alfred was born in a small town southeast off Montreal, Canada.  He was the ninth of 13 children. His father was a carpenter and lumberman while his mother educated the children. In 1849, Alfred's father decided to move to Farnham, Quebec. The family was very poor and he hoped that he would find a job as a lumberman and improve the standard of living for his family.   When Alfred was nine years old his father was killed in a tragic accident .  While working as a lumberjack, he was crushed by a falling tree.  Three years later, Alfred’s mother died of tuberculosis.  By the age of twelve, Alfred had lost both his parents.  The children were sent to various relatives.  Alfred, who had little formal education, went to work at various jobs.

Alfred was never a strong man and he was initially rejected by the Congregation of the Holy Cross when he applied to enter the community.  His parish priest wrote a note to the superior of the Congregation stating “I’m sending you a saint.” Archbishop Ignace Bourget of Montreal intervened and in 1872, Alfred was accepted and received the name of Brother André. He made his final vows on February 2, 1874.

Brother André was given the task of porter at Notre Dame College in Quebec.  He was also given additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. The people who came to the college soon  discovered that Brother Andre was a good listener and they began coming to him with their various problems.  He had great devotion and confidence in Saint Joseph and would recommend praying to St. Joseph to those who came to him with their afflictions and sorrows. He would rub sick people with oil taken from a lamp that burned in front of the Statue of St. Joseph in the college chapel.  People experienced healing after Brother Andre prayed for them. Brother Andre refused to take credit for the cures, giving all the honor to St. Joseph.  In 1904, he began to collect money to erect a chapel in honor of St. Joseph on a hill across the street from the college.

The Oratory of St. Joseph began as a small chapel on the side of the hill. It quickly became a pilgrimage site and the crowds grew in number. In 1917, a larger church was built that was able to seat 1,000 pilgrims. In 1924, the Congregation of the Holy Cross and Bother Andre began to build a large basilica which was finally completed in 1967. In the crypt church of the Oratory there are displayed thousands of crutches from the many people who were healed.

When Brother Andre died in 1937, at the age of 91, it was reported that a million people filed past his coffin. His body lies in the Basilica that he helped to build.  Brother André was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 23, 1982 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.