Journey of St. Louise from a world of suffering to a new life of creative boldness and leadership.

1. S T . L O U I S E D E
M A R I L L A C
THE MOUNTAIN OF STONES AND THE DIAMOND

2. “The greatness of Louise de Marillac can never be understood until this
false image of a timid, dour, drab and cheerless woman has been put
aside …her nature was outgoing, her life given over to people. She was a
creature of love and she loved with all the ardor of a warm heart.”
- Joseph I. Dirvin, C.M.

3. Louise followed Christ by:
• moving beyond good
intentions and becoming
involved in people’s
sufferings
• remembering that Christ is
present in the marginalized,
and Christ became a servant
in order to proclaim and be
good news for the poor
The power of the Holy Spirit
made her feel that she was
sent to free the captives, to
give sight to the blind, to
restore the dignity of the
oppressed and to proclaim the
goodness of the Lord!

4. In her younger years, Louise
was an anguished, indecisive,
insecure and anxious woman.
She was excessively religious
and followed many daily
practices of prayer and fasting,
rules and discipline. Her image
of God filled her with fear and
anxiety.
But that was about to change.
God had a plan. Louise met
Vincent de Paul, a man who
was the opposite of her in
many ways. He showed her
that worrying is totally useless.
When she began to worry, he
would suggest that she go find
something to do— the most
important thing, and the best
cure, was to go out and serve
the poor.

5. Vincent became Louise’s
spiritual director and he
worked on her like a patient
sculptor, with clear and simple
instructions. We can see that in
their letters to each other.
Whenever Louise was acting
too pious and religious,
Vincent suggested a Christian
life that was centered on love:
“God is love and wants us to
go to him through love (CCD:I:
81).” When Louise was afraid of
God’s judgment, Vincent
emphasized that “Our Lord is a
continual communion for
those who are united to what
he wills and does not will
(CCD:I:233).” When she was
sad and depressed, Vincent
spoke of the joy and
contentment of living and
trusting in God’s love (CCD:I:
150).

6. Some time before this, Louise
had a famous experience while
at church on the Feast of
Pentecost, where her mind was
instantly freed of all doubt. She
had an inner assurance that it
was God who was speaking to
her about her future and that
she should remain at peace
about it.

7. Vincent could see that Louise
had her own personality,
different from his, but he could
also see that very calmly and
quietly the grace of God was
leading her to a radical
commitment— a whole new
kind of life!

8. It was not that Louise’s
suffering in her younger years
was wasted. In suffering Louise
grew interiorly, experienced
the sting of poverty, and came
to understand the meaning of
insecurity and disgrace. From
the margins of happiness she
began to experience for
herself, without realizing it, the
despair and abandonment of
the marginalized people that
she would be helping in the
future.
Suffering does not always
mean despair— in Louise’s case
it was like a birth. Louise came
to see suffering as fertile soil
that was able to make a person
stronger, preparing them for
very difficult and daring works.

9. Vincent himself, in a letter
dated April 1630, wrote what
could perhaps be a theme for
Louise’s journey: one beautiful
diamond is worth more than a
mountain of stones (CCD:I:75).
Vincent allowed God to polish
those “stones” in Louise, one
by one, until they became a
diamond. So that there could
be no doubt about this Vincent
stated very clearly in one of his
last conferences to the
Daughters of Charity, a
conference on the virtues of
Louise de Marillac, that Louise
is the work of the hands of
God (CCD:X:575).

10. During her travels, Louise met
many nameless, faceless
people who seemed to be
almost inhuman, depressed,
and counted as nothing in
society.
Louise experienced the hell of
the extreme marginalization of
seventeenth century France.
She had to confront this
oppression!

11. Louise dared to look at the
other side of the coin and
realized that the poor, though
vulgar and rude, are the
sacrament of Christ. (Meaning
that they are signs of the clear
presence of the crucified Lord
in the midst of the world.)
Louise was convinced that the
poor were not just people she
served, but more than that—
they were actually the ultimate
criteria for our salvation or
condemnation: “For I was
hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me
drink, a stranger and you
welcomed me, naked and you
clothed me, ill and you cared
for me, in prison and you
visited me.” (Matthew
25:35-36).

12. In the poor, Louise saw the
passion of Christ… the
suffering of the poor was
united to the suffering of
Christ.
This was the starting point for
her ministry.

13. Louise was also very clear that
the poor need more from us
than alms or medicine or
clothing or even some form of
permanent assistance. Simply
giving money or material
goods is nothing compared to
giving yourself. We have to
make good use of every
moment of our life, including
exposing our life to danger for
the love of God … and doing
all of this in order to serve the
poor.
Louise wanted to emphasize
the passion that we must have
in ministering to the poor,
suffering and marginalized.
They demand the total
surrender of our life!

14. In pictures and holy cards you
might find an image of Louise
as a woman distributing alms,
or providing direct help to the
poor.
But one of Louise’s best talents
was providing effective
organization to the practice of
charity. So much so that many
present-day experts in the field
of social action are surprised
by the organizational system
that Louise established more
than three and a half centuries
ago. Without any exaggeration
her system could be classified
as a true revolution in the field
of social action.

15. One of the most significant
signs of her creative boldness
is seen in the role that Louise
played in the first institution
that was established by
Vincent de Paul: the
Confraternities of Charity
(presently known as the
International Association of
Charities or Ladies of Charity).
This lay institution, for the most
part composed of women, was
initiated on August 23, 1617 in
the town of Châtillon-les-
Dombes (today known as
Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne)
where Vincent was pastor of
the parish church. These
Confraternities spread rapidly
throughout France and formed
an extensive charitable
network.

16. Obviously at first not all the
Confraternities functioned
properly, and some were in
need of a boost. Louise was
sent forth to visit, encourage,
organize, and coordinate the
ministry of the Confraternities.
She traveled mile after mile on
horseback, in stagecoach and
on foot. During her visits
Louise observed how the
Confraternities were doing,
their financial situation, the
commitment of each member
… she was informed about the
spiritual life of the members …
she herself visited the poor
and was not satisfied with
simply providing good advice
… she engaged in the most
humble and difficult tasks and
was careful to attend to one of
her great concerns: the
formation and training of the
members.

17. In the Rule of the
Confraternities we see detailed
descriptions that are so
characteristic of Louise de
Marillac. She did not impose
some theory or system or rigid
method. Everything was based
on reality and common sense
and was adapted to the local
circumstances and needs.
Nevertheless the Rule
demanded commitment,
fidelity and preparation. The
Rule was very detailed and this
guaranteed that the poor
would be served with
tenderness, cordiality and
respect. The Rule also served
as a catechetical tool that
enabled the members to
become more Christian as they
became involved in a process
of on-going conversion to
Christ through the person of
those who were abandoned
and excluded from society.

18. CO-FOUNDER
OF THE
DAUGHTERS
OF CHARITY
Vincent clearly stated the
theological reality: God is the
only author of the Company
(of the Daughters of Charity).
Nevertheless, the historical
truth is that Louise gathered
together a group of poor
women, servants, who were
willing to dedicate their lives to
the poor.

19. For some time Vincent was
hesitant to consider this
proposal because his mind
[was] not yet enlightened
enough before God (CCD:I:
200). It was not until
September 1633 that he wrote
to Louise: I think your good
angel did what you told me in
the letter you wrote me. Four
or five days ago, he
communicated with mine
concerning the Charity of your
young women … and I gave
that good work serious
thought (CCD:I:216).
On November 29, 1633, four
young women, Marie,
Michelle, Nicole and Jeanne
gathered together in Louise’s
house. They would come
together to pray and to
prepare their souls to receive
the Spirit of God and the
unknown mission that was
reserved for them.

20. The establishment of the
Daughters of Charity
constituted the definitive stage
of the human and spiritual
journey of this woman, Louise,
who was now forty-two years
old. From this time forward she
dedicated herself tirelessly:
molding, encouraging,
forming and transmitting the
Vincentian spirit to these
women, “her daughters”, side
by side with her director,
Vincent de Paul.

21. It was Louise who was
encouraging, directing and
organizing the activity of this
group of women. Furthermore,
Vincent de Paul himself stated
that without Louise none of
this would have been possible.
It was because of Louise that
the Daughters first cared for
the sick poor in their homes
and taught the peasant girls in
the various towns and villages.
Later, because of
circumstances and need, the
arms of the Daughters reached
out to embrace those persons
afflicted by the threefold curse
of the plague, hunger and war.

22. “The intimate aspects of her spiritual life, that is, her mystical desires …
these would be locked away with seven keys in the depths of her being.
She would send out the Daughters along a realistic path, a path of
commitment that was pointed out to her by that priest of crude peasant
country appearance [Vincent]. As a result a new, better image of Louise
takes form … a mature woman, strong, clear-sighted, bold and creative.“
- Celestino Fernández, C.M.

23. SOURCE:
Based on
Louise de Marillac: a bold and
creative woman*
by: Celestino Fernández, C.M.
Translated by: Charles T. Plock, C.M.
*Some text was paraphrased or simplified
for the purpose of teaching in presentation
format.
http://misionerospaules.org