Antoinette Fage

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antoinette Fage (born November 7, 1824 in Paris ; † September 18, 1883 there ) was a French Roman Catholic nun and founder of the order. She stands with Étienne Pernet at the beginning of the Petites Sœurs de l'Assomption (Little Sisters of the Assumption of Mary, also: Little Sisters of Assumptio ).

life and work

First stage of life

Antoinette Farge grew up fatherless in a small family in Paris. Bone cancer at the age of 12 stopped her growth and left her disabled for life. At 13, she lost her mother and had only one grandfather. Until 1850 she lived in an adoptive family. At an early age she turned to the poor and their children, supported by her spiritual advisor , the Dominican Thomas Faucillon (1829–1901), with whom she stayed in correspondence after his departure. In 1862 she joined the Third Order of the Dominicans and opened an orphanage with Countess Flora de Mesnard (1808-1887).

Superior of the Little Sisters

In 1864 she met the Assumptionist of the same age, Étienne Pernet, with whom she would have a lifelong friendship of rare intensity. Pernet had founded a small women's community on Rue Vaneau with the aim of free home care in the families of the poor in the working class. In June 1865, at 233 rue Saint Dominique, he made Antoinette superior of the community of sisters, which, with eight members in extreme poverty, began caring for the poor at home. The Congregation of the Little Sisters of Assumptio (Assumption of Mary into Heaven) was founded. The model was the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor by Jeanne Jugan and the Sisters of Mercy around Rosalie Rendu .

Parole in wartime

In September 1866, Antoinette made a private vow and took the religious name Marie de Jésus (Mary of Jesus or Mary Mother of Jesus). In 1870 they moved to rue Violet 57 (where the congregation is still today) and soon had to set up an emergency hospital with 80 beds for those injured in the Franco-Prussian War and then the Paris Commune , as well as the conquest of Paris by the survive regular troops and this without the assistance of Pernet. In this time of crisis, the superior demonstrated her ability.

Official recognition of the community. Death of the founder in 1883

The community grew and established additional bases (including London in 1880 and Lyon in 1883). In 1873 she was officially incorporated into the Assumptionist Order. From 1874 the sisters wore an order habit. After the official recognition of the community of sisters by the diocese in 1875, the superior made profession with 30 sisters, in 1878 the perpetual profession. When the bishop withdrew the spiritual direction of the Little Sisters from Pernet in 1876 because the Assumptionists in the Gallican diocese were considered too ultramontane , Antoinette Fage stubbornly stuck to him and achieved his reinstatement in 1880. In 1883 she experienced the visit of Don Bosco , who spoke out very appreciatively, made one last trip to Lourdes as terminally ill and died in agony at the age of 58. She is buried on Rue Violet, with Pernet, who died 16 years later, at her side. Her beatification process began in 1935.

Development of the congregation since 1883

Their congregation continued to expand, including to Dublin and New York in 1891. In 1896 there were 400 sisters. In 1897 it was officially approved by the Holy See, as were its statutes in 1901. Today almost 600 sisters work in many parts of the world (but not in German-speaking countries).

literature

  • La mère Marie de Jésus, fondatrice des Petites soeurs de l'Assomption . Maison de la bonne Presse, Paris 1909.
    • (English) Mère Marie de Jésus. Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Assumption, Nursing Sisters of the poor in their own homes. Longmans, Green & Co., London 1917.
    • (Polish) Matka Marja od Jezusa założycielka Małych sióstr od Wniebowzięcia . Paris 1933.
  • William O'Brien, Mrs .: Unseen friends . Longmans, Green and Co., London and New York 1912.
  • Geneviève Duhamelet: Les petites soeurs de l'Assomption . Editions Bernard Grasset, Paris 1932.
  • Marianus Rodriguez: Béatification et Canonisation de la servante de Dieu Mère-Marie de Jésus, cofondatrice de la Congrégation des Petites Soeurs de l'Assomption . Maison de la Bonne Presse, 5, rue Bayard, Paris 1935.
  • Wings of Charity. The Pernettes and their mission . Translated and adapted by the Benedictines of Teignmouth. Burns, Oates & Co., London 1938.
  • Steven Debroey: De hoekstenen. Het leven van Etienne Pernet en Marie-Antoinette Fage, stichteres van de Zusterkens van Onze Lieve Vrouw Hemelvaart . Desclée De Brouwer, Bruges 1956.
  • Agnès Richomme: Étienne Pernet et les Petites Soeurs de l'Assomption . Ed. Fleurus, Paris 1990.
  • Frédérique de Watrigant: Passionnés de Jésus-Christ. Étienne Pernet and Antoinette Fage, fondateurs des Petites Soeurs de l'Assomption. Desclée de Brouwer, Paris 2013.

Web links
personal data
SURNAME Fage, Antoinette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Marie de Jésus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French religious and founder of the order
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH September 18, 1883
Place of death Paris