St. Louise de Marillac
Feast 03-15 · Canonized 1934
Patron of
About
Louise de Marillac was born in 1591 in Paris, the illegitimate daughter of a noble family. She married Antoine Le Gras in 1613 and bore a son, but was widowed in 1625. Under the spiritual direction of St. Vincent de Paul, she found her vocation in the service of the poor.
In 1633 she co-founded the Daughters of Charity with Vincent de Paul, a community of women dedicated to serving the sick and the poor in their homes, in hospitals, and in the streets. She trained the first sisters, wrote their rule, and directed the community until her death.
She died in 1660, a few months before Vincent de Paul, and was canonized in 1934. In 1960 Pope John XXIII declared her patroness of all Christian social workers.
Prayer
God of the poor, you gave St. Louise de Marillac to St. Vincent de Paul and through her founded the Daughters of Charity; through her intercession bless all who serve the sick in their homes and in the streets. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.