Website dedicated to Blessed Eugenie Joubert
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Eugenie JOUBERT (on the right) was born in Yssingeaux, in Haute Loire, on February 11, 1876. She was the fourth of eight children of a christian family.
She distinguished herself by her communicative joy even though her childhood was marred by the separation of her parents.
From the age of five, she boarded with the Ursuline Sisters of Monistrol, where Marie, her elder sister, had already entered.
She made her first communion there at the age of eleven. Throughout her life, she remembers this encounter with Jesus.
She would write: “I have kept delicious memories of Monistrol, indelible impressions”.
At ninteen, she responded to the Call of Jesus by entering the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart.
This congregation was founded on 8 December, 1889 (the day of the Immaculate Conception) by Father Louis-Etienne Rabussier SJ and by Mother Marie-Ignace Melin.
Sister Eugenie pronounced her vows on 8 December, 1897 in Saint-Denis.
She honored the Blessed Virgin in a special way, preferring the hidden life, like Mary in Nazareth.
Eugenie makes a profession:
“JESUS ONLY”.
Her brief existence was devoted to the catechesis of the very young, the poorest and the most deprived. She experienced this mission first in Aubervilliers, then in Saint-Denis (France) and finally in Liège (Belgium). (Photo here)
Her apostolate was rooted in her religious life which radiated throughout by the union with Jesus and the love in small things:
“SO LONG AS JESUS IS PLEASED”.
She was exhausted by her task. Soon she had to take to her bed because of tuberculosis. In the silence of the infirmary, an intimacy full of love developed between herself and Jesus.
She followed Christ Suffering with love.
Eugenie died on 2 July 1904, in Liège, Belgium, at the age of 28, pronouncing the name of her Beloved.
His burial was subsequently transferred to Dinant (Belgium) where the motherhouse of her congregation was then located. The location of her grave in the Saint-Gilles cemetery in Liège (Belgium), marked with a cenotaph, is still venerated.
Chapels in honor of Blessed Eugenie Joubert are erected in different places:
- in France, in St. Peter’s church in Yssingeaux,
- in Belgium, in St.Gilles’ church in Liège.
- in Italy, in the building which housed the General House of the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart in Rome.
Sister Eugenie Joubert was beatified in Rome on November 20, 1994, by Pope St. John Paul II.
“The Reign of Christ can begin in the heart of a child. This was understood by Sister Eugenie and this is why she took so much care in preparing the youngest for first confession and first communion. Everyone, from an early age, is called to bear witness to the truth. Ceaselessly, the Church will resound the words of the Lord: "Let the little children come to me!"” (Excerpt from the homily delivered by Saint John Paul II).
The Congregation of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart is a female pontifical religious congregation of catechists. It was founded on the 8th of December 1889 by Father Louis-Etienne Rabussier S.J and Mother Marie-Ignace Melin.
Thus it was founded on the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. This congregation honors in a special way the Holy Virgin preferring the ‘hidden life’ of Mary in Nazareth.
Their principal rule is to walk following Christ according to the gospel. The sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart practice the apostolate of the interior life, fraternal charity and service to the smallest and poorest. Their main function is the catechesis of the working class.
They also work in teaching, parishes, various works of charity and care of the aged and sick.
An agricultural high school is named after Blessed Eugenie Joubert in Yssingeaux (Haute Loire)
The congregation is present in France in Puy-en-Velay (place of foundation) and in Aubervillers, Paris, Saint-Denis. The sisters left France at the beginning of the 19th century because of anti congregation laws. They open communities in Liege and Dinant (Belgium), in Rome and in Nemi (Italy). In 1919, they open a missionary apostolate in Dahomey (Benin, Africa). At the start of 1904, while very sick, Blessed Eugenie says “ I will go to Africa one day!”
Today the congregation is represented by Sister Marie-Catherine and is located Via delle Vigne Nouve in Rome. Blessed Eugenie Joubert is honored by a chapel dedicated to her. The site is occupied by the Missionaries of the Divine Revelation.
Her parents: Marie-Antonia Celle and Pierre Joubert
Her brothers and sisters:
ERNEST. Born 17th April 1868. Notary at Tence (Haute Loire). Married to Therese Peyot (died at the station of Chateaucreux in Saint Etienne in a train accident). A second marriage to Philomena Viallard.
MARIE. Born 13th August 1870. Religious in the Order of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart. She was Superior of the Monastery at Liege where sister Eugenie died. She was later assistant to the Superior General in Rome.
LAURENT. Born 11th June 1874. Died young.
WILFRED. Born 6th May 1878. Doctor in Paris. Married Flore. Sister Eugenie liked to have her brothers and sisters say their prayers, especially ‘her’ little Wilfred. After the death of the Blessed Eugenie, Wilfred asked and received from the Sisters of the Holy Family, her rosary in souvenir of the many decades he had recited with his sister.
GABRIEL. Born 30th December 1879. Owned a coffee factory in Yssingeaux. Married to Marie Gerphagnon. Had a son who died at the age of 18.
EDWARD. Born 23rd December 1882. Single. French Consul in Auckland New Zealand.
ANTONIA. Born 2nd July 1885. Married to Jean-Marie Gaucher. She had four children of which two died young.
Antonia and Marie-Antonia
Ernest
Marie
Edouard
Antonia