Anne Eugenie Milleret de Brou was born in Metz, France on August 25, 1817 and died on March 10, 1898. Her personal history was marked by a period of historical and social upheaval. New philosophies challenged traditional understanding of human thought. The new scientific method and mentality gained ground and shaped minds, sharpening the conflict between science and faith. Industrialization was beginning to transform not only economic structures but also the lifestyle of society and politics. France discovered the power of popular movement, with new ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity shaking the foundations of the structures of society: its government, social order, economy, education, and its Church.
In 1836, she underwent a radical conversion while listening to Father Lacordaire.
“Your words filled in with all my ideas, my impulses, completed my picture of reality, revived my notion of duty and my longing for goodness. All had been on the point of fading from my heart but your words gave me a new generosity and faith, which, henceforth, nothing was to shake… I was truly converted.”
Anne Eugenie wanted to be part of the new and evolving world and find her own place in it. She renounced her own comfort in order to write her vision into human history. On 30th of April, 1839, she founded the Congregation of the Religious of the Assumption, taking the name – Marie Eugenie of Jesus.
She looked upon her times with hope and considered that the world was a place of the revelation and glory of God. This way of looking at the world impelled her to love it better. She believed in the social consequences of living out the Gospel and in its power to transform society. It was her reflection on her own experience, on the needs of her time, as well as on the growing split between faith and reason, that led her to choose education as her response to the challenges of her times.
Marie Eugenie was convinced that her project was within God’s plan. Her faith gave her not only boldness but also endurance, not only the energy for action but also the strength to carry it out in the face of misunderstanding and opposition. Her faith and her love of Christ were for her a source of unity. She kept her gaze fixed on her goal.
“Jesus Christ brings a liberation that transforms society.”
In 1965, the Church recognized her way to holiness. Pope John XXIII solemnly declared the veracity of her virtues. Pope Paul VI beatified her on February 9, 1975 in Rome. On June 3rd, 2007 — Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity — in the rain-drenched piazza of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI declared Mother Marie Eugenie of Jesus a saint of the universal Church. A woman of faith and vision, she was open to the needs of her time and oriented towards the future.
Like Marie Eugenie in her day, the Religious of the Assumption want to be deeply faithful to the same charism in whatever educational endeavors they undertake. Today, with their lay partners and present in many countries, the Assumption contemplates reality in all its dimensions – people, society, the world – to be able to discern everything that favors life and leads to an ever greater hope in God, in humankind, and in society. It is to understand that God has a plan for the world that each one is called to partnership in it.
“To educate is to allow the good to break through the rock that imprisons it and bring it to the light where it can blossom and shed its radiance.” St. Marie.Eugenie.
