Click on this link to view the photo album created for the occasion
Read the special Partage Auteuil issue on the Beatification
Homily of Pope Paul VI at the Beatification
This year, we joyfully celebrate the 50th anniversary of the beatification of Mother Marie Eugenie Milleret, foundress of the Religious of the Assumption. This commemoration not only invites us to remember that moment of grace experienced in 1975 but also encourages us to reflect on our own vocation to holiness.
What is a Beatification?
Beatification is a solemn act of the Catholic Church by which the Pope declares that a deceased person may be venerated in a special way within a Community or Religious family. This recognition, based on a rigorous process of investigation into their life, virtues, and possible miracles, allows for limited public veneration of the new Blessed while awaiting eventual canonization.
A Universal Celebration
On February 9, 1975, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was filled with fervor as more than 15,000 pilgrims from 30 countries gathered. Religious of the Assumption, students, alumni, and friends of the Congregation took part in a series of international gatherings that reflected the universality of Mother Marie Eugenie’s charism. The Eternal City was adorned with the colors of the different groups: 700 pilgrims from Belgium with their yellow backpacks, 150 from the Philippines in white and blue, and the vibrant Rwandan drums accompanying moments of celebration.
From the vigil on February 7 at the Palazzo dello Sport, where participants reflected on Jesus as the only path to liberation, to the grand celebration at St. Ignatius on February 8 with testimonies from laypeople and Religious, the beatification was a time of grace that united hearts around the message of the new Blessed. The great day arrived with a spring sun shining over Rome as pilgrims waited with hope and emotion for the proclamation of Mother Marie Eugenie as a Blessed of the Church.
When her image appeared in Bernini’s glory, St. Peter’s Basilica resounded with thunderous applause and the vibrant music of African drums, which echoed in the Basilica for the first time. After the celebration, Pope Paul VI received representatives of the Congregation, who presented him with a reliquary of the new Blessed, a sign of the living presence of her testimony in the world.
A Call to Holiness Today
Fifty years later, Mother Marie Eugenie’s message remains as relevant as ever. Her life reminds us that holiness is not a distant ideal but a concrete path of fidelity to God in daily life. She recognized education as a means of social transformation and evangelization, integrating contemplation and action.
Celebrating this anniversary is an opportunity to ask ourselves: How are we called today to live our faith with the same passion and dedication? The beatification of Mother Marie Eugenie was not only a recognition of her holiness but also a reminder that we are all called to live the Gospel with depth and generosity.
On this special occasion, let us renew our commitment to the mission of the Assumption and follow in the footsteps of Mother Marie Eugenie in building a more just world, illuminated by faith and love for God.
The original was written in Spanish, written by Sister Mercedes, responsible for communications
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