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Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier (July 31, 1796 in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île – April 24, 1868 in Angers), born Rose Virginie Pelletier, was a French Roman Catholic nun, best known as the foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. She was born on an island off the coast of France where her parents had been exiled by the French Revolutionaries. She was christened ''Rose Virginie Pelletier'' and at the age of eighteen joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity who cared for girls and women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. Mother Mary Euphrasia formed the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd to expand this apostolate to wherever needed. She died in Angers, France, in 1868 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1940. Her feast day is 24 April. == Biography == She was born on Noirmoutier a small island off the northwest coast of France, on 31 July 1796, and received in baptism the name of ''Rose Virginie''.〔("Saint Euphrasia Biography", Saint Euphrasia Catholic Church, Granada Hills, CA )〕 She was the 8th child of Dr Julian and Anne Pelletier. 〔("St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier – Foundress", Good Shepherd Sisters, Australia and New Zealand )〕 Her father died when she was ten years old. In 1810 her mother placed Rose Virginie in a boarding school in Tours. Her mother died in 1813; Rose Virginie did not learn of her mother’s death until after the funeral. 〔 Near the boarding school was the convent of the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, a religious Congregation founded by Saint John Eudes to provide care and protection for women and girls who were homeless and at risk of exploitation. Despite her guardian's reservations Rose Virginie was allowed to join the sisters provided that she not make her vows before she turned 21.〔 She made her profession in 1816, taking the name of ''Mary of Saint Euphrasia''. The sisters of the community had been dispersed at one point during the revolution; the majority had been imprisoned. Rose Virginie joined what was a community of elderly weary sisters.〔(O'Shea, Sr. Norma, ''A Brief Sketch of the Life of Mary Euphrasia'', Good Shepherd Sisters, Waterford, Ireland )〕 A short time after her profession, she became first mistress of the penitents, and about eight years later was made superioress of the house of Tours. 〔Butler's lives of the saints, Volume 4 by Alban Butler, Paul Burns 1999 ISBN 0-86012-253-0 page 175〕 She founded a community for women who wanted to lead a contemplative life and would support, by their ministry of prayer, the different works of the Congregation.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mary Euphrasia Pelletier」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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