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Will another couple soon be elevated to the altars? In the French diocese of Saint-Brieuc, in the eastern part of Brittany, France, the beatification process of Claude-Toussaint Marot de la Garaye and Marguerite-Marie Piquet de la Motte, commonly known as Mr. and Mrs. de La Garaye, has begun. The “charitable spouses” (as they are nicknamed) were known for their social work and commitment to the sick, poor, and suffering.
Another married couple on their way to the altars
It’s worth remembering that the first married couple beatified together was Maria and Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi. The momentous ceremony was performed on October 21, 2001, by Pope John Paul II, and it was exactly on the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio, on the role of the family in Christian life.
“Until recently, it was unthinkable to imagine the beatification of lay people, much less a married couple who had not suffered martyrdom, given signs of mystical life, or contributed to exceptional events,” suggests Br. Jean-Marie Gueullette, OP, chairman of the historical commission for the beatification process.
Three of their children attended the Mass: Fr. Tarcisio was 95 at the time, Fr. Paolino was 92, and Enrichetta, 87; Sr. Maria Cecilia had died in 1993.
Then, Louis and Zelie Martin (the parents of St. Thérèse) were beatified in 2008 and canonized in 2015.
Joseph and Victoria Ulma were beatified along with their children in 2023. The Ulma family was martyred by the Nazis for protecting Jews.
“Charitable spouses”
The memory of Mr. and Mrs. de La Garaye has remained alive in their native Brittany for more than 250 years. During his visit to Sainte-Anne d’Auray in 1996, Pope John Paul II highlighted their social and charitable activities, referring to them as “charitable spouses,” a sobriquet coined by their first biographer, Fr. Carron, in 1782.
The couple was involved in caring for those most in need for almost 50 years. They converted Taden Castle, where they resided, into a hospital, and set up 60 beds for the sick in converted stables.
These decisions were influenced by two sad events in their lives. One day, while hunting, Marguerite fell off her horse. The accident was followed by serious health complications that prevented her from having children.
Seven years later, the couple was affected by the untimely death of their brother-in-law, Joseph de Pontbriand. Claude and his wife decided to abandon a lavish life and began serving the poor. They took care of the wards themselves.
Hands-on service
The couple took their service seriously, educating themselves in the area of medicine, using their property to create hospital wards, and hiring experts. The countess learned to dress wounds and specialized in eye diseases. The couple educated themselves in the medical field and hired experienced medics with a very good reputation in the region.
Mr. and Mrs. de La Garaye hired four surgeons to assist them. Every year, a dozen doctors went there for training. The couple even converted one of their farm buildings into a chemical laboratory for formulating medicines. They also built an annex to the Dinan hospital in 1733, with 24 beds for terminally ill patients abandoned by doctors and their relatives.
One of the surgeons, Sieur Le Bigot de Carvilli, noted in his diary at the time that the count and countess de La Garaye’s hospital achieved astonishing cases of healing with simple remedies.
Claude and Marguerite continued helping others for the rest of their lives, sacrificing all their possessions. The count died on July 2, 1755, at the age of 80. His wife joined him in eternity on June 20, 1757.
“A timeless Christian ideal”
The ceremonial opening of the cause of Mr. and Mrs. de La Garaye on September 22, 2024, highlighted four distinguishing virtues: faith (the couple served God in the poor, seeing them as brothers in Christ), charitable love (manifested in concrete action of a heroic nature on behalf of the poorest), wisdom (Claude’s radical temperament was toned down by Marguerite, which contributed to a more just and lasting generosity), and justice (Claude paid reparations to those who suffered harm, thus demonstrating a strong sense of justice).
“They embody a timeless Christian ideal,” stressed Bishop Denis Moutel, during the opening of the beatification process.
And today we celebrate...