The following letter is from Erin von Uffel and Lorraine Fusaro of the Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey Foundation (www.sistermarie.com) in Cold Spring Harbor, NY on the occasion of the opening of the Cause of the Beatification and Canonization of Sr. Marie de Mandat-Grancey, January 21, 2011.
Dear Family of St. Vincent,
This past January 21st the Cause for the Beatification of Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey, DC (1837-1915) was opened in the USA in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph by the Most Reverend Bishop Robert W. Finn. Sister Marie, now Servant of God, is honored by the Church as Foundress of Mary’s House, Meryem Ana Evi in Turkish, in Ephesus, Turkey. In Mary’s House both Muslims and Christians pray side by side in peace as they honor Mary. Certainly a hope filled beacon of peace in these times.
Sister Marie gave up a life of nobility in Dijon, France to serve God as a Daughter of Charity. After her first two assignments in France, she answered Pope Leo XIII’s call for missionary assistance in Asia Minor in 1886. There she was led by God on a fascinating and grueling faith journey to find Mary’s House then acquire and restore it for all God’s children for all time. Throughout her vocation Sister Marie’s great devotion to Mary, Mother of God, fueled her countless days of loving service caring for the poor and sick, orphans, and the many school children in her care; never failing to promote devotion to the Association of the Children of Mary. You can read about the Ceremony and find Bishop Finn’s homily here: http://www.sistermariefiles.com/HomilyVespersOpening.pdf
You can also learn much more about Sister Marie and how to support the Cause for her Beatification at our blog www.sistermarie.com. There you will find much information including two booklets with Forewords written by Fr. Carl Schulte, CM, on the life of Sister Marie and why many believe her life is being held up as a model by God through His Church now in these times.
The Sister Marie Prayer Card in printable PDF format may also be found at the site. The prayer is added below for your convenience. Please share the prayer, consider encouraging others to have the prayer cards printed and to go to Sister Marie for her intercession. Please if it is possible, also share the news of the Opening into the Investigation of her life in any printed journals, local newspapers, etc., again, details all the information necessary is available at the Sr. Marie de Mandat-Grancey Foundation site: www.sistermarie.com
Readers will also find the Online Petition to sign and a new prayer card to print on the site. On the reverse side of the prayer card can be found a short biography written by Fr. Schulte. Just last week were added many photos of the Solemn Vespers Ceremony as well. This coming spring we are happy to announce that a book on the life of Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey DC, Servant of God, will be published. It is entitled A Guiding Star and is written by one of your own dear Vincentian priests, Fr. Carl Schulte, CM. It was a blessing for me to assist him with this endeavor and we are so pleased that Easter time will see it in print.
Thank you for your kind attention. We at the Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey Foundation hope Sister Marie stirs in your heart the same zeal for gathering the Children of Mary from many faiths and cultures into Mary’s House as she has done for so many in recent times. Our Mother will take all the prayers of all her children and with them do something wonderful for God. Sister Marie is pointing the way to Mary who will bring us to her Son, Jesus.
As our Holy Father said in 2006:
“From here in Ephesus, a city blessed by the presence of Mary Most Holy — who we know is loved and venerated also by Muslims – let us lift up to the Lord a special prayer for peace between peoples.” – Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Homily at “Mary’s House” in Ephesus, Turkey, November 29, 2006
Please visit www.sistermarie.com often for updates and to learn more about the release of Fr. Schulte’s book this spring.
Erin von Uffel and Lorraine Fusaro
The Sister Marie de Mandat-Grancey Foundation
P.O. Box 275
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
Tags: Daughters of Charity
