The cardinals present in Rome and Pope Francis met on Monday to announce that Mother Marie-Léonie, born Élodie Paradis, foundress of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, will become a saint. The Sherbrooke native lived from 1840 to 1912, and had already been beatified in Montreal on September 11, 1984 by Pope John Paul II.
On October 20, she will be canonized together with 11 martyrs of Damascus and two other founders of religious communities. They are Giuseppe Allamano for the Missionaries of the Consolata and Elena Guerra for the Oblate dello Spirito Santo.. The announcement of the canonization of Mother Marie-Léonie comes in the year of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke. Events organized by the Diocese of Sherbrooke will be held on the sidelines of the canonization of the Blessed in Rome.
Marie-Léonie Paradis was born in 1840 in the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu region, in Montérégie. (Little Sisters of the Holy Family)
Woman of many missions
Élodie Paradis joined the Marianite Sisters of the Holy Cross at the age of 14. She taught in Varennes, Saint-Laurent in Montreal and Saint-Martin in Laval, before going to New York and Michigan to teach French Canadians who were emigrating to the United States.
“She always felt a call to support priests in their ministry. Events led her to found a new community, Les Petites Sœrs de la Sainte-Famille, which was recognized in 1896 by the Bishop of Sherbrooke, Monsignor Paul LaRocque. These consecrated women work in the homes and institutions where priests work, accompanying them in their ministry both materially and spiritually. Many women have become involved over the years following in the footsteps of Blessed Marie-Léonie Paradis,” reads a press release from the Diocese of Sherbrooke.
The tomb of Mother Marie-Léonie has been located at the Saint-Michel Basilica-Cathedral in Sherbrooke since 2017.
