June 17: Saint Emily de Vialar

Today, June 17, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Emily de Vialar (1797-1856), virgin of the Church, caregiver to the poor, and foundress of the Sisters of Saint Joseph “of the Apparition,” a holy order still thriving today. Emily’s favorite testament was “Love One Another,” which she practiced without exception, seeing Christ in all around her, and tirelessly loving and serving those in need.


Saint Emily was born to an aristocratic family in Gaillac, France, the eldest of three children. As the French Revolution had just passed, and anti-Christian sentiment was still in full force in France, Emily was baptized by her parents in secret, and her mother undertook religious instruction in the home.

At age seven, Emily began attending a local school. During that time, she developed a keen insight into the fact that she was an attractive child, and wishing to curb the possibility of vanity, removed the mirrors from her room and refused to view her reflection. She further refused new clothes and jewelry, so as not to draw attention to herself. Rather, Emily preferred to spend her time in prayer.

When her mother died, Emily was sent to boarding school at age 13, but returned to Gaillac a few years later. At that time, trying to mend the harm done by the Revolution, Emily began catechizing the local youth. When her father attempted to arrange a marriage for her, Emily refused. She would later report that during that time, "God became my director.” Emily privately consecrated her life to God, deciding to remain a virgin, and increasing her prayer life. On one occasion she had a vision of our Lord pointing to the wounds of His passion. This experience moved her deeply and had a lasting effect on her life. Upon inheriting her grandfather’s large estate, Emily moved from her father’s home with sorrow, knowing the difficulty it would bring to her father. She wrote in her memoirs, “it was only in doing violence to my heart that I decided to leave him, knowing what affliction it would cause him.”

Emily took up residence in a large building she purchased in Gaillac, and along with three like-minded women, began ministering to the needy, sick, and poor. Soon, eight others joined the cause, and through the assistance of a local priest, the group was eventually granted the religious habit. In 1835, the original three had grown to nearly 40 members, known as the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition. They took their vows in 1835 and dedicated themselves to “all works of charity,” specifically the instruction of children and the care of the sick at home, in hospitals and in prisons.

Saint Emily was especially moved by the mystery of the Incarnation, which she contemplated in prayer frequently. In particular, she was taken with the role of Saint Joseph, in accepting the message of the Lord delivered via an angel. Emily felt strongly that the Incarnation should be the core of her congregation, the inspiration for her mission. She would tell her sisters that without Joseph taking on the role of caregiver and earthly father to Jesus, the Incarnation would not have been complete. This, she likened to her call to care for others, allowing Jesus to thrive in the world.

Saint Emily wrote in the laws she established for the congregation at Mother Superior: "The spirit of this Congregation is to dedicate the Sisters to the practice of the different works of charity. In order to acquire this divine virtue, they meditate every day of their lives on the immense charity which fills the Heart of Jesus Christ; and they strive to imitate his zeal for the salvation of souls and his great mercy towards the neighbor. They dwell frequently on the adorable wounds of the Savior, so that, reflecting unceasingly on the love of God for men, they maintain and increase each day the sentiments of compassion and zeal with which they must be animated towards their fellow men."

Soon thereafter, Saint Emily looked to extend the congregation, traveling to Algeria where her brother had settled and built a hospital with his own money. He had written o his sister, stating his need for assistance in staffing the hospital, and Emily and her congregation were all to happy to help. They arrived in Algeria and worked tirelessly to treat the population, suffering from a violent cholera outbreak. Their charity and selflessness won the hearts of the people, and soon their mission spread from the hospital to other regions of the country, assisting the poor, uneducated, hungry, and sick.

She wrote at that time: "The Lord causes to burn within me that same fire which He enkindled long ago, and I rejoice in this grace, for if God did not breathe into me the spirit of zeal, my heart would cease to be quickened and then I would not be able to do anything. May He, in His goodness, grant that as long as I live this divine fire may not be extinguished."

Financial difficulties followed soon thereafter for the order, and Emily lost her entire fortune in keeping the work of the Lord progressing. She was forced to move the mother house of the order from Gaillac to Toulouse, and the following years were spent in extreme poverty and tireless service and obedience. Emily was certain that the Lord would provide, and He did, and often made light of her troubles. "I have plenty of trials," she wrote, "but God is always there to support me." Saint Emily died at age 59, from long-standing complications of a hernia suffered in her youth while helping the poor. Four years after her death, her mortal remains were found intact, incorrupt. By the time of her death, she had formed forty-two foundations of her Order—most of them by herself-- not only in Western and Eastern Europe and Africa, but in the Middle East, the Far East, and Australia. Their work continues today on every inhabited continent, living the motto penned by Emily, “Love of God is service to the poor.”

During her lifetime, Emily had been asked to write about her spiritual life by her confessor. Her thoughts, put down in the form of a memoir, survive:

"From the first few months following my return to fervor, Our Lord developed in me a spirit of recollection, and initiated me into interior meditation by making me feel His Presence even in the midst of my occupations. As a result of this, I entered into very close union with Him. Desiring that I should cultivate this union to the utmost He said to me one day: ‘Remain in my Presence. If you stray from it, I shall recall you’. Unhappily, I was none too faithful in following my bent for recollection, and although I obeyed the Voice of God inspiring me to make certain sacrifices, I cannot cease reproaching myself for having made such feeble efforts to remain united with Him in the depths of my heart.


At the same time, I reflected upon my inconstancy in the practice of recollection, and I resolved to make a vow about this matter also. I promised Our Lord to remain in His presence as faithfully as I could


From this moment, and throughout the following twenty-three years, I continued to love God with a tender and dominant love, but I was not satisfied with my interior life, and the constant sorrow I felt of being unfaithful to God led me to fall more easily into divers defects, so that even while loving Him, I did not stop offending Him.


It happened that, in 1843, while I was journeying for the second time to Tunis with a view of establishing a new foundation in Carthage, I made a long and difficult crossing, having almost nothing to eat and unable to rest except in a sitting position. It was during this voyage that it pleased Almighty God to grant me a great facility in uniting myself to Him in the depths of my heart, and I spent eight days, as it were, in Retreat.”

The life of Saint Emily de Vialar was not always easy, but was always committed to doing good in the world, extending the touch and love of Jesus to all she encountered. Like Saint Joseph, who following the message of the angel, readily did as the Lord instructed, Saint Emily remained steadfast and obedient throughout her life, striving constantly to improve the lives of those she came into contact with. What has each of us done lately to improve the lives of those in need? How can we continue to miraculous work that began at the Incarnation?



O St. Emily, you who in the church, wanted to continue to manifest the Father's love, as realized through the Incarnation of the Son, grant us your docility to the Spirit, your audacity and your apostolic courage.



Year 2: Day 168 of 365

Prayer Intentions: Hearts of service and obedience; for those involved in charitable work; for all those in need.
Requested Intentions: Restoration of health (D); Successful employment for couple (N); For employment for children (K); For health of friend, for successful relationships for children, for safe pregnancy for daughter (C); For the health of a mother (J); Virtue for daughter (V); Successful acceptance to college for nephew (M); For the health of a cousin (T); Freedom from legal difficulties for husband (S); Husband’s freedom from illness (L); Personal intentions (S); Successful passing of dental board examination (P); Blessings on a family (Z); Successful permanent employment (C); Healing of a son with autism (J); Son’s successful employment (L); For the intentions of family and relatives, for the Carthusian community (T); For personal intentions (A); Restoration of lost hearing (C); Resolution of relational and financial challenges (S); Comfort following loss of husband, security for family, assistance with housing (B); Healing and return of brother (O); Successful hermitage foundation (S); Support from family, permission to marry (H); Recovery of wife following surgery, freedom from depression (W); Protection and recovery of mentally ill daughter (J); Successful resolution to legal proceedings (N); Freedom from worry and successful employment (M); For successful sale of home and freedom from debt (J); Freedom from pain and illness (E).