Vincent de Paul was born in Dax. Four hundred thirty years after his birth of Vincent, Dax has cause for celebration. Sister Marguerite RUTAN, Daughter of Charity – Martyr will be beatified. The Dioceses of Aire and Dax, the Daughters of Charity Community and the Lazarist Mission Congregation have joined their efforts to celebrate this unprecedented event to be held on the 19th of June 2011. The official website in three languages features the following links in the english version.
- A great life in a nutshell
- Was Sr. Marguerite a Fanatic
- The program of events
- Sister Rutan today
- Meaning of beatification
- Towards the beatification
- Link to a DVD
- YouTube video with English subtitles
Update 19 June, 2001: Video of the mass is available here (from KTOTV.com )
Tags: beatification, Daughters of Charity, Featured, Rutan
Visit an extensive album of photos from the beatification of Marguerite Rutan DC in Dax, June 19, 2011. (Courtesy of the Polish CM site.)
Report of the events from Fr. John T. Maher, C.M. CM Director of Communications.
In Dax, France, on Sunday June 19, amidst a cheering crowd of nearly 9,000 people on a breezy, sunny day in the Maurice Boyau Arena, amidst murals of matadors, bull fights, and rugby players, Sr. Marguerite Rutan, a Daughter of Charity martyred in 1793 during the French Revolution was beatified. Hundreds of Daughters of Charity came from countries and continents to witness this spiritual occasion.
Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints traveled from Rome to join Bishop Philippe Breton, head of the diocese of Aries and Dax, along with several bishops from neighboring dioceses and over one hundred-fifty priests to celebrate the Mass for Beatification in Boyau Arena. The enthusiasm of the crowd, comprised of many French and Spanish young people (including many among in the Vincentian Marian Youth movement, i.e., Juventud Mariana Vicenciana), along with the pride of the local community in hosting this event was evident.
The liturgy managed to incorporate the Mass for Trinity Sunday with traditional hymns as well as newly composed prayers and songs honoring Sr. Marguerite. At times, the crowd and choir broke out into spontaneous local songs and chants enlivening both the liturgy and the participants. When, as part of the beatification rite, the portrait of Sr. Marguerite was unveiled, prolonged cheers and camera flashes gave the liturgy an exciting “rock star” quality.
It was evident that the fine coordination between the Dioceses of Aires and Dax and the Daughters of Charity made for a wonderful weekend of celebration. It began with a play on the life of Sr. Marguerite on Friday, June 17, at the “Berceau”, a place outside Dax considered the birthplace and home of St. Vincent de Paul. It continued with a Saturday pilgrimage to places in Dax significant in both the lives of Sr. Marguerite Rutan and St. Vincent de Paul, including the house where Vincent studied and tutored as a young man, the hospital Sr. Marguerite founded for the people of Dax, the place where she was jailed when falsely accused by Revolution officials of being a “religious fanatic”, a term used in the “Reign of Terror” to persecute priests and religious refusing to take the Civil Constitution oath of loyalty.
On Saturday evening, June 18, the cathedral of Notre Dame in Dax was filled to capacity as people gathered for a two hour prayer vigil with compline to reflect on Sr. Marguerite’s life and to pray in gratitude for her faithful witness. Daughters of Charity, laity, Vincentians, and diocesan priests prayed and reflected with scripture, hymns, and silence on the meaning of Sr. Marguerite’s life in today’s world.
A Daughter of Charity present at the events reflected on what the life, death, and beatification of Sr. Marguerite Rutan mean for her today: “Marguerite could not have gone to the guillotine while chanting the Magnificat of Mary had she not lived the daily martyrdom of being hated, defamed, and imprisoned while still serving the poor with resolve and integrity. Her ordinary daily holiness enabled her to persevere in her vocation, even to death. Therefore, Marguerite is our model to stay faithful to the tasks in daily life and not to take the easier, softer way that the world often presents us.”
Zenit story on beatification
GUILLOTINED RELIGIOUS BEATIFIED IN FRANCE
http://www.zenit.org/article-32908?l=english