St Elisabeth Bichier

Elisabeth was born into a rich and important family; her father worked for the Government of France and her mother was the daughter of a Government official. So during the French Revolution, when people in France fought against the government and the Church, her family had a very difficult time; Elisabeth was 16 years old when the Revolution started. Her father died when Elisabeth was only 19 years old and she had to fight against the new Government that had taken over France, in order to keep what belonged to her family. She studied the law on her own and took the Government to court and she won, saving her family from loosing all their possessions and being homeless. When she was 23 she left their home with her mother to live outside of Paris. The Catholic Church in the town was really suffering because of the Revolution; most of the priests in France had been kicked out of France for not agreeing to follow the new Government. Elisabeth gathered as many people as she could to pray and sing and learn about God, because they had no priest to celebrate mass for them. She soon heard that there was a priest saying mass in secret in a barn 25 miles away, Fr. Andrew Fournet who became a saint too. Elisabeth and Fr. Andrew became friends and Fr. Andrew helped Elisabeth grow closer to Jesus. When her mother died Elisabeth joined a Carmelite convent, she was 31 years old. Later with the help of Fr. Andrew she created a new order of Sisters called the Daughters of the Cross of St. Andrew. These sisters took care of the sick and poor and helped to teach the people of France who were not living in the city. This order spread throughout small towns in France during Elisabeth’s life, with 60 houses being started and these sisters continue to help the people of France today.