Canada will have a new canonized saint in October

Pope Francis recently approved the canonization of Sr. Marie-Léonie Paradis, a Canadian-born religious sister who taught in schools and founded a religious order that specialized in domestic work.

According to VaticanNews, “The names of these 14 new saints will be inscribed in the List of Saints on Sunday, October 20, 2024.”

Born to a poor family in 1840 in Quebec, Alodie-Virginie Paradis was drawn to the religious life at an early age. By 13 she joined the Congregation of the Marianites of the Holy Cross and flourished in the convent, taking the name Marie-Léonie.

She was known as a great teacher and was sent in 1862 to St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage in New York. Marie remained at her new assignment for several years, until the United States branch of the congregation split and moved to Notre Dame, Indiana. There she taught at St. Mary Academy for a few years, but was then invited back to Canada to help at the College of St. Joseph in Memramcook, New Brunswick.

Marie traveled back to Canada and soon enough her joyful example of religious life attracted women who wanted to work with her in a new religious congregation. The Bishop of Montreal heard of Marie and encouraged her to found a new congregation of religious who would aid priests and religious. With the bishop’s support, she established the Little Sisters of the Holy Family on May 31, 1880. It was their mission to do “domestic work in religious communities, colleges, and seminaries.”

She died on May 3, 1912, at the age of 72 and was known for her great heart and charming simplicity.

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