Marie of the Incarnation was a French nun who was born on October 28, 1599, and she died on April 30, 1672. She did an important thing, and that is why you should know who she is. As part of a group of nuns sent to New France, which is where Quebec is now, to establish the Ursuline Order of nuns, Marie of the Incarnation was crucial in the spread of Catholicism in the New World. She was a religious author and has been credited with founding the first girls’ school in the New World. Had you ever heard of Marie of the Incarnation?
Marie of the Incarnation Biography
Marie of the Incarnation was born Marie Guyart in Tours, France. She was the fourth of eight children. From an early age, she had mystical experiences and visions drawing her to religious life. When Marie was seven years old, she recounted her first mystical encounter with Jesus Christ. In her book Relation, of 1654, she recounted the encounter with Jesus.
Intent on belonging to Christ, Marie, aged fourteen, proposed to her parents that she enter religious life with the Benedictines of Beaumont Abbey, but her parents failed to act on her desire. Instead, she married Claude Martin in 1617. He was a master silk worker. By her own account, she enjoyed a happy marriage, and within two years, she had a son, also named Claude. Her husband died only months after the birth of their son, leaving Marie a widow at the age of nineteen and the recipient of a very brief marriage.
With her husband’s death, Guyart inherited his failing business, which she then lost. Forced to move into her parents’ home, Marie of the Incarnation secluded herself to pursue a deepening of her commitment to spiritual growth. Free to pursue her religious inclinations after her husband’s death, Marie of the Incarnation took a vow of chastity, obedience, and poverty. On March 24, 1620, she became a nun.
She found many spiritual connections with Spanish Mystic Teresa and was heavily influenced by her work. Marie of the Incarnation wanted to travel to the New World, in Quebec, and become a martyr there. Listening to Jesuit teachings and her visions, Marie of the Incarnation became more and more encouraged to travel to New France. Her spiritual director helped, and she identified the country in her vision to be Canada and further incentivized her departure to New France. She never became a martyr, but she would spend years in the New World aspiring towards it, working diligently in the meantime.
In 1631, after working with a spiritual director, Guyart decided to enter the Ursuline monastery in Tours to answer her religious vocation. She had been leading a cloistered life as a member of the Ursuline Order. After having professed her vows in 1633, she changed her name to Marie of the Incarnation. That Christmas, she recounted another vision, which functioned as the catalyst for her mission to Quebec. In this mystical dream, she was walking hand in hand with a fellow laywoman against the backdrop of a foreign landscape. On the roof of a small church in this distant, foggy landscape sat the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
Various personal and financial problems delayed her departure by four years. On May 4, 1639, she arrived on August 1. Her early interactions with native populations were shaped by the constraints created by differing lifestyles, illnesses, and alliances. Religious education was important in the 17th century. Marie of the Incarnation followed a strict orthodox teaching method she had learnt during her time in Tours.
Marie of the Incarnation died of a liver illness on April 30, 1672. In the necrology report sent to the Ursulines of France, it was written: “The numerous and specific virtues and excellent qualities which shone through this dear deceased, make us firmly believe that she enjoys a high status in God’s glory.” She was canonized by Pope Francis on 2 April 2014.
Conclusion
This is another obscure saint, though she did something very important. When you think of the importance of education and the historical discrimination against girls, starting a school for girls in the 17th century was groundbreaking. It was people like this who created the new world. This person created the first school for girls.
