Today we celebrate the feast of Blessed Rosalie Rendu.”Rosalie Rendu was an extraordinary woman. Even though many of the biographies written about her are poor in quality,[1] Rosalie’s energy, creativity, fidelity, courage shine out in the accounts of those who knew her.[2] Long before her death she had become famous. An immense crowd, estimated at 40-50 thousand people, from all strata of society flocked to her funeral on February 9, 1856. As we look forward to her beatification, I think of Shakespeare’s eloquent words:
When she shall die,
Take her and cut her out in little stars,
And she will make the face of heaven so fine
That all the world will be in love with night…[3]
The Church beatifies and canonizes men and women precisely for that reason: that they might shine out like stars for us, that in the midst of darkness we might see, in their example, what it really means to be holy. Saints make holiness real, concrete. So, let me present to you today five faces of Rosalie Rendu.
Five Faces of Rosalie Rendu – Robert Maloney
Photographs to accompany above articles
Sr. Evelyne Franc on the life of Rosalie Rendu
