Mary of St. Peter

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Portrait of Sr. Mary of St. Peter on a prayer card

Mary of St. Peter ( born as Perrine Eluère ) (born October 4, 1816 in Rennes , France , † July 8, 1848 in Tours , France) was a Roman Catholic nun in the Carmel of Tours who had visions in France in the 19th century of Jesus and spread the veneration of the most holy face of Jesus .

Life

Mary of St. Peter was born as Perrine Eluère on October 4, 1816 in Rennes, Brittany. She was one of eleven children of the master locksmith Eluère and his wife. Since the mother died early, the eldest sister took over the house while Perrine had to look after the younger siblings. Perrine was only able to attend school for barely two years and was learning to read and write. As a child, she was not exactly good and pious, rather stubborn and stubborn. When Perrine was first led to confession at the age of six and a half, she decided to improve her behavior. She was often found in the nearby Saint Germain Church, deep in prayer and meditating on the Way of the Cross. She realized early on that she was called to a life of special following of God. Inspired by a sermon, she tried her hand at inner prayer early on, albeit in a childlike manner. Their search for a suitable soul guide and confessor turned out to be extremely difficult, as their striving for perfection often only aroused incomprehension. Perrine suffered greatly and experienced times of spiritual dryness and abandonment that affected her prayer life. She sought refuge with the Blessed Mother and was strengthened on her way by a unique encounter with a priest. At the age of 17, Perrine changed confessor again and was now accompanied by Abbé Panager, who was known for recognizing and promoting vocations to religious life. He accompanied and examined Perrine for five years. She had to practice works of charity such as nursing the sick and caring for the poor, always being kind and showing humility and self-conquest. During a pilgrimage to a nearby Marian shrine, Perrine put down needles, scissors and thimble - she worked in her aunt's sewing studio - to ask for an early opportunity to enter the monastery. She also prayed in front of the relics of St. Martin of Tours that were exhibited in a chapel in Rennes. She asked if there was a Carmel in his former diocese, to be accepted there without knowing where Martin had even lived. Their prayers were miraculously answered. One day Abbé Panager brought her the news that she could enter the Carmel of Tours, the episcopal city of St. Martin. The prioress there had turned to him with a request for a postulant. Overjoyed, Perrine set off for Tours on November 11, 1839, with her father. Upon entering the Carmel of Tours, which was founded in 1608 by the Blessed Sr. Anna of St. Bartholomew, Perrine received the religious name of Mary of St. Peter. She was dressed on May 21, 1840 and made her vows on June 8, 1841. She was given the responsible and laborious office of the gate sister. During her life in the monastery, Sr. Maria received visions and revelations from Jesus from St. Peter in her soul. On behalf of the superior she wrote several writings about these revelations and about her life, which were kept under lock and key at the instigation of the bishop. On July 8th, 1848, Sr. Maria of St. Peter died at the age of only 31 years. She was buried in the monastery cemetery. Today her grave is in the Oratory of the Holy Face in Tours.

Aftermath

The writings of Sr. Maria of St. Peter were only released to the public in 1875, 27 years after her death. Nevertheless, she significantly influenced the Venerable Servant of God Leo Dupont , a friend of the Carmel of Tours, with her idea of ​​the atonement and the veneration of the Holy Face. St. Therese of Lisieux was also influenced by the life and writings of the Carmelite woman from Tours. Through the founder of the Carmel in Lisieux, Mother Genoveva, and through Sr. Agnes von Jesus, the biological sister of Therese, the life and work of Sr. Maria of St. Peter became known and spread in the Carmel of Lisieux. Therese's admiration for the saintly nun from Tours even went so far that she kept a lock of Sr. Maria of St. Peter as a relic in her gospel book. Therese's spirituality from the Little Way shows in many ways similarities with the life and spirituality of the Carmelite of Tours. The veneration of the saintly nun of Tours intensified after the publication of her writings. After the Carmel of Tours was dissolved, the body of Sr. Maria was exhumed by St. Peter and buried in the Oratory of the Holy Face in Tours.

literature

  • Sr. M. Theresia O.Carm .: Carmel in the past and present. Holy Carmelites. Sr. Maria of St. Peter. In: Carmel Voices. Volume 24, Issues 8–11, 1957.
  • Dorothy Scallan: The Golden Arrow: The Revelations of Sr. Mary of St. Peter. TAN Books, Charlotte (NC / USA) 2010, ISBN 978-0-89555-389-8 .
  • Pierre-Désiré Janvier: Leo Dupont: The Holy Man of Tours. The Herald of Face Jesus Worship: His Life and Mission. Gotthard Media, Goldau 2013, ISBN 978-3-03806-010-9 .
  • Handbook of the Arch Brotherhood of the Most Holy Face. Aachen 1976.

Web links

to adoration of the Holy Face:

personal data
SURNAME Mary of St. Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Eluère, Perrine (maiden name); Marie de Saint Pierre; Mary of Saint Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French Roman Catholic nun, Carmelite
DATE OF BIRTH October 4, 1816
PLACE OF BIRTH Rennes
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1848
Place of death Tours