Margaret Mary Alacoque
Margaret Mary Alacoque, VHM (French: Marguerite-Marie Alacoque) (22 July 1647 – 17 October 1690) was a French Catholic Visitation nun and mystic who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.
Margaret Mary Alacoque
22 July 1647
L'Hautecour, Duchy of Burgundy, Kingdom of France
17 October 1690 (aged 43)
Paray-le-Monial, Duchy of Burgundy, Kingdom of France
18 September 1864, Rome by Pope Pius IX
13 May 1920, Vatican City by Pope Benedict XV
Monastery of the Visitation,
Paray-le-Monial, Saône-et-Loire, France
October 16 (October 17 by the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary and universally prior to 1969; transferred to Oct 20 in Canada)
Young nun wearing the black Visitandine habit and holding an image of the Sacred Heart
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Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
Alacoque was born in 1647 in L'Hautecour, Burgundy, France, now part of the commune of Verosvres, then in the Duchy of Burgundy. She was the fifth of seven children, and the only daughter of Claude and Philiberte Lamyn Alacoque.[1] Her father was a well-to-do notary. Her godmother was the Countess of Corcheval. Margaret was described as showing intense love for the Blessed Sacrament from early childhood.
When Margaret was eight years old, her father died of pneumonia. She was sent to a convent school run by the Poor Clares in Charolles, where she made her First Communion at the age of nine. She later contracted rheumatic fever which confined her to bed for four years. At the end of this period, having made a vow to the Blessed Virgin Mary to consecrate herself to religious life, she was instantly restored to perfect health.[1] In recognition of this favor, she added the name "Mary" to her baptismal name of Margaret. According to her later account of her life, she had visions of Jesus Christ, which she thought were a normal part of human experience, and continued to practice austerity.
With the death of Alacoque's father, the family's assets were held by an uncle who refused to hand them over, plunging her family into poverty. During this time, her only consolation was frequent visits to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in the local church. When she was 17, however, her brother came of age, took undisputed possession of the home and things improved. Her mother encouraged her to socialize, in the hopes of her finding a suitable husband. Out of obedience, and believing that her childhood vow was no longer binding, she began to accompany her brothers in the social events, attending dances and balls.[1]
One night, after returning home from a ball for Carnival dressed in her finery, she experienced a vision of Christ, scourged and bloody. He reproached her for her forgetfulness of him; yet he also reassured her by demonstrating that his heart was filled with love for her, because of the childhood promise she had made to his Blessed Mother. As a result, she determined to fulfill her vow and entered, when almost 24 years of age, the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial on 25 May 1671, intending to become a nun.[1]
In popular culture[edit]
The detente bala amulet used by Spanish soldiers is said to derive from Alacoque's emblems.[19]
In James Joyce's short story "Eveline", in his book Dubliners, a "coloured print of the promises made to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque" is mentioned as part of the decorations of an Irish home at the turn of the 20th century, testifying to Joyce's fine eye for the details of Irish Catholic piety.[20]
Stained glass at Saint Julie Billiart Catholic Church (Hamilton, Ohio)
Stained glass at Saint Martin of Tours Church (Louisville, Kentucky)
Stained glass at Église Saint-Germain de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Stained glass at Ballylooby Church of Our Lady and St. Kieran, Ireland
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