On this day: Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher

by Gerelyn Hollingsworth on Oct. 06, 2011

On this day, 200 years ago, Eulalie Durocher was born in this house in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.

In 1831, after her mother died, Eulalie and her father went to live with Eulalie's brother, Theophile, a priest at Beloeil. Eulalie managed the "household and the parish rectory. For the next thirteen years she learned a great deal about the spiritual and social needs of a parish, especially the need for schools. In 1843 the new bishop suggested that Eulalie form a religious congregation dedicated to education. Her brother strongly objected to losing his trusted right hand, but Eulalie overcame his resistance and with two companions founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary."

--The Big Book of Women Saints, by Sarah Gallick, HarperOne, 2007, page 315.

In 1844, in the church at Longueuil, Eulalie Durocher professed vows and became Mother Marie-Rose. Melodie Dufresne became Mother Marie-Agnes, and Henriette Cere became Mother Marie-Madeleine. The new congregation attracted students and postulants, and by the time of Marie-Rose's death on this day in 1849, they had four convents with over fifty members and 448 pupils.

Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher was beatified in 1982 by Pope John Paul II.

For a detailed account of the life of Marie-Rose Durocher and of the early days of the congregation she founded, see Great American Foundresses, by Joseph B. Code, Macmillan, 1929. This book is free online.

Click here for a Wikepedia article which includes information about the difficulties Charles Chiniquy caused Mother Marie-Rose's congregation. (Click his name in the article for information about the difficulties he caused Abraham Lincoln and his continuing influence on anti-Catholics of today.)

Click here for the web site of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

Today, Blessed Marie-Rose's Sisters are concerned with many issues, including Water, and Human Trafficking, and First Nations People.

Subscribe to NCR

Want to read more about important issues in the life of the Church? A subscription to NCR will keep you up to date and informed.

Subscribe now!

A very happy feast day to the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and to all who have benefited from their service!

Jésus et Marie, Ma Force et Ma Gloire!

Post new comment

NCR Comment code:

  1. Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  2. Use appropriate language. Avoid vulgarities and slurs.
  3. Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.

For more detailed guidelines, visit our User Guidelines page.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
(if you have one; if not, leave this blank)
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <font> <swf> <swf list>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • You may use <swf file="song.mp3"> to display Flash files inline

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA
This is to prove you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.