203 years ago, on 26th August 1817, at 1:00 in the morning, the child who would become Saint Mary Eugénie of Jesus was born. She was born in a house in the rue du Haut-Poirier, now called rue du Chanoine Colin, near the cathedral of Metz, where even in her old age, Marie Eugénie liked to return to pray. She was baptised on 5th October, in the chapel of the Château of Preisch, near the statue of Our Lady of Consolation.
She wrote: "Gifts of grace, at the first moment of my existence, the baptism when I received the names of Anne and Mary and of a martyr, an angel has always accompanied me...". (Intimate notes 162/01)
We give thanks today for the life of this little girl, who by the grace of God became the foundress of the Congregation of the Religious of the Assumption. She invites us to recognise that the Lord accompanies our steps from the first day of our life, a life that we receive from Him. Yes: “It is God who leads everything and never could a wiser or more loving hand lead our destinies.”