Today, we celebrate the liturgical Memorial of Saint Marguerite d'Youville (15 October 1701 - 23 December 1771). Born in Varennes, Quebec, located just south-west of Montreal, she was educated in Quebec City by Ursuline nuns for a period of two years before she returned home to teach her younger siblings. At the age of 21 years, she married François d'Youville, but unfortunately, by the time she had celebrated her 30th birthday, she had suffered the loss of her father, her husband and four of her six children. Through all her sufferings, Marguerite grew in her belief of God's presence in her life and His tender love for every human person. She, in turn, wanted to make known His compassionate love to all. She undertook many charitable works with complete trust in God, whom she loved as a Father.
In 1737, Marguerite and five other women founded a home for the poor in the city of Montreal. At first the home only housed four or five members, but it grew as the women raised funds. As their charitable work went against the social conventions of the day, d'Youville and her colleagues were mocked by their friends and relatives and even by the poor they helped. Some called them les grises, which can mean the grey women but which can also be interpreted as the drunken women, or most literally as the filthy drunks. By 1744 the association had become a Catholic religious order with a rule and a formal community. In 1747 they were granted a charter to operate the General Hospital of Montreal, which by that time was in ruins and heavily in debt. d'Youville and her fellow workers brought the hospital back into financial security.
Marguerite d'Youville, foundress of the Grey Nuns of Montreal, or simply the Grey Nuns, died in 1771 at the General Hospital. In 1959, she was beatified by Pope John XXIII, who called her Mother of Universal Charity, and was canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II. She is the first native-born Canadian to be elevated to sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church.
Let us ask Saint Marguerite d'Youville to pray with us today, so that like her, we may learn to pay attention to others, especially those who are poor and those who are in need. Although we may be tempted to judge them, every person we meet reveals the face of God to us and we are called not to judge but to love them (cf Lk 11:42).
Have a great day.
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