Saintly Saturday (on a Sunday!) - Blessed Marie Anne Blondin

Esther Blondin was born on April 18, 1809 into a farming family in Quebec. Her Christian family instilled a great love of Divine Providence & the Eucharist, as well as faith in suffering patiently. Unfortunately, many of the French Canadians in this 19th century were illiterate due to a Church ruling…girls could not be taught by men & boys could not be taught by women. Rather than open two separate schools, many parishes chose to have neither. Because of this, by the age of 22, Esther was still illiterate. She worked at the Convent of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame as a domestic. She later registered as a boarder so that she could learn to read & write, then became a novice. Ill health prevented her from going further within the congregation.

As a teacher in a Vaudreuil parochial school, she gradually learned the reason behind the illiteracy & in 1848 felt a call to found a religious congregation to educate boys & girls in the same schools. Her bishop gave modest authorization & the State was in favor of that type of schooling. Esther became Mother Marie Anne, the first mother superior of the school in Vaudreuil on September 8, 1850. 

When the bishop transferred, the new chaplain made things difficult in the community & for Mother Marie Anne. Due to the oppression this new priest placed on the community & at the request of the former bishop, she resigned her position & was not allowed administrative duties for the rest of her life in the community. She spent the rest of her life hidden, working in the laundry & other manual tasks. 

When one young novice learned that Marie Anne was the foundress of the SIsters of St. Anne, she asked why she was doing laundry. Her response, “The deeper a tree sinks its roots into the soul, the greater its chances of growing, branching out, and bearing fruit.” Through her actions, she also taught, “There is more happiness in forgiving than in revenge.” 

She died on January 2, 1890 & was beautified by St. John Paul II in 2001. We celebrate her life on April 18. Let us follow her example & lead our lives with a sense of humility, obedience, & forgiveness. 

Blessed Marie Anne Blondin, Pray for Us!