Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

Who was Mary Euphrasia Pelletier?

Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, born Rose Virginie Pelletier, was a French Roman Catholic nun, best known as the foundress of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd.

She was born on an island off the coast of France where her parents had been exiled by the French Revolutionaries. She was christened Rose Virginie Pelletier and at the age of eighteen joined the Order of Our Lady of Charity who cared for girls and women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. Mother Mary Euphrasia formed the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd to expand this apostolate to wherever needed.

She died in Angers, France, in 1868 and was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1940. Her feast day is 24 April.