The Beatification of Mother Marie Eugénie of Jesus: a gift for the Church and for the world

On 9 February 1975, Pope Paul VI proclaimed Mother Marie Eugénie of Jesus Blessed, founder of the Religious of the Assumption, in Saint Peter’s Basilica. This event recognized her personal holiness and affirmed before the universal Church the value of her life and charism for contemporary evangelizing challenges.

The profound meaning of beatification

Beatification is a solemn act by which the Church recognizes that a person has lived the Christian virtues heroically and presents their witness as worthy of veneration and imitation. According to the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the blessed are models of Christian life and intercessors before God (cf. Lumen Gentium 49; CCC 956). Beatification confirms that this path of faith remains living, fruitful, and relevant for the Church.

The call that beatification addresses to us today

Beatification awakens a living call for the Assumptionist Church, encompassing four essential theological and institutional dimensions:

1. Holiness as the horizon of all Christian life The Assumptionist charism is a gift of the Spirit for the Church, enriching her in fidelity to Christ. As Saint John Paul II states in the apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata, the founders’ charisms “appear as an experience of the Spirit, transmitted to disciples to be lived and developed in harmony with the Body of Christ” (VC 19). Living the charism is both a grace and a mission at the service of the universal Church.
2. Charism and ecclesial communion The Assumptionist charism is a gift of the Spirit enriching the Church in fidelity to Christ. Participating in a charism means joining the one Christian spirituality that drives the community to serve the world — a mission at the service of the universal Church.
3. Contemplation and mission: the unity of Christian life The spiritual experience of Marie Eugénie embodied profound contemplation sustaining her apostolic work. The Assumptionist charism calls for a unity of contemplation and mission, where prayer and apostolic life answer God’s call together. This integration is vital today, when the search for meaning and social transformation require an integrated spirituality.
4. Witness in the contemporary world Beatification urges us to renew Marie Eugénie’s witness: integral education, human promotion, cultural dialogue, and commitment to justice and fraternity. Living this witness makes the fidelity of Christ present today, responding to the signs of the times with creativity and trust in the Spirit.

Remembering and celebrating the beatification of Mother Marie Eugénie of Jesus makes present a living call: to concrete holiness, joyful service of the Gospel, and creative fidelity to the charism she lived. This commemoration strengthens us to respond to God’s plan and continue as co-workers in the Kingdom of Christ.

Almudena de la Torre

Communication Team

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