Saint Julie Billiart
Stored in Cargo: Saint Julie Billiart
| Saint Julie Billiart | |
| Feast Day | April 08 |
|---|---|
| Liturgical Class | |
| Patronage | Against poverty, bodily ills, sick people, educators |
| Birthplace | Cuvilly, Picardy, Kingdom of France (now France) |
| Death Place | Namur, United Kingdom of the Netherlands (now Belgium) |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes (illness and exhaustion) |
| Primary Shrine | Motherhouse of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, Namur, Belgium |
Saint Julie Billiart, born on July 12, 1751, in Cuvilly, France, was a resilient foundress who established the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur to educate poor girls amid the French Revolution’s chaos. From a pious peasant family, she taught catechism as a child, but a traumatic shooting at 22 left her paralyzed for 22 years. In 1804, miraculously healed during a novena led by Father Enfantin, she co-founded her order with Françoise Blin de Bourdon in Amiens, dedicating it to Mary and education. Facing persecution, she moved to Namur in 1809, tirelessly building schools until her death on April 8, 1816, at 64, leaving a global legacy of faith and learning.
Canonized in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, Julie’s feast day, April 8, honors her perseverance and devotion. Her body rests in the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Namur, a pilgrimage site where her spirit endures. Patroness against poverty and sickness—reflecting her own struggles—her writings, like *Spiritual Journal*, and her order’s spread to Europe, America, and Africa testify to her impact, inspiring educators and the afflicted with her joyful trust in God.
Biography
Birth
Saint Julie Billiart was born on July 12, 1751, in Cuvilly, Picardy, France, to Jean-François Billiart, a shopkeeper, and Marie-Louise Antoinette Debraine, modest farmers. Baptized Marie-Rose-Julie, she grew up in a rural village known for its fields. Cuvilly’s simplicity shaped her early faith.
Her family’s fortunes waned after thefts, but Julie’s piety shone from childhood. Born during Louis XV’s reign, her life would soon intersect with revolutionary upheaval.
Early Life
Julie’s youth was marked by precocious holiness; at 7, she taught catechism, earning the nickname “little saint.” By 14, she worked to support her struggling family after their shop failed. In 1773, at 22, she witnessed an attempt on her father’s life, triggering a nervous condition that paralyzed her legs, confining her for decades.
From her sickbed in Cuvilly, she catechized children and prayed, enduring the Revolution’s anti-clerical violence—hiding from mobs in 1791. Her early life of suffering forged a resilient spirit for her later mission.
Occupation
Initially a teacher and laborer, Julie’s occupation shifted to religious leadership after her 1804 healing. With Françoise Blin de Bourdon, she founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Amiens, opening a school for poor girls in 1806. As superior, she trained sisters and expanded the order, moving to Namur in 1809 amid French persecution.
Her work focused on education and charity, establishing convents despite frail health. Julie’s occupation was founding and guiding a teaching order, a mission she pursued until death.
Vocation
Julie’s vocation emerged in her paralysis, deepened by visions of Mary urging her to educate the poor. Healed on June 1, 1804, during a novena to the Sacred Heart, she saw her suffering as preparation for founding the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1804, dedicated to Christian education. Her motto, “Ah, qu’il est bon, le bon Dieu!” (“How good is the good God!”), reflected her calling.
Exiled to Namur, she led her sisters through hardship, dying in 1816. Julie’s vocation was to teach and uplift the downtrodden, a legacy enduring in her order’s global reach.
Death
Saint Julie Billiart met her end on April 8, 1816, in Namur, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, dying of illness and exhaustion at 64 in the order’s motherhouse. Worn by years of travel and labor, she blessed her sisters, dying peacefully after a brief sickness. Buried in Namur’s motherhouse chapel, her tomb remains intact.
Her death sparked devotion, with miracles soon reported. Julie’s passing closed a life of triumph over adversity, birthing a lasting educational mission.
Significant events
- Paralyzed after a shooting incident, 1773.
- Miraculously healed during a novena, June 1, 1804.
- Founded the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 1804.
- Died on April 8, 1816, in Namur.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Cuvilly, Picardy, Kingdom of France (now France)
Death location: Namur, United Kingdom of the Netherlands (now Belgium)
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Parishes
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Canonization
Servant of God
The process began in 1881 in Namur, with Bishop Théodore Gravez opening inquiries into Julie’s life, spurred by her order’s growth and reported miracles.
Venerable
Declared Venerable on June 23, 1902, by Pope Leo XIII, recognizing her heroic virtue after reviewing her writings and impact, no miracle required then.
Beatification
Beatified on May 13, 1906, by Pope Pius X in Vatican City, after the 1905 healing of a paralyzed woman in Belgium, attributed to Julie’s intercession via prayers and a relic.
Canonization
Canonized on June 22, 1969, by Pope Paul VI in Vatican City, following the 1968 cure of a child’s meningitis in Brazil after prayers with Julie’s relic, affirming her universal sanctity.
Miracles
Miracle for beatification
In 1905, a Belgian woman, paralyzed for years, walked after a novena to Julie with her relic. Doctors confirmed no medical explanation, and the cure, witnessed by her community, was approved in 1906, reflecting Julie’s own healing.
This miracle echoed her lifetime resilience, hastening her beatification. It underscored her intercessory power for the afflicted.
Miracle for canonization
In 1968, a Brazilian child, dying of meningitis, recovered fully after her family prayed with Julie’s relic. Medical testimony verified the sudden cure, ratified in 1969, sealing her canonization with a second miracle.
This healing mirrored Julie’s mission to the vulnerable, affirming her sainthood. It completed her path to global veneration.
Other notable miracles
- Her own healing from paralysis in 1804, seen as divine favor. - Posthumous cures at her tomb, fueling early devotion.
Patronage
Saint Julie Billiart is the patron saint against poverty, bodily ills, sick people, and educators.
Feast day
The feast day of Saint Julie Billiart is celebrated on April 8.
Veneration
Saint Julie is venerated through prayers for healing and education, centered at the Namur Motherhouse, where her body rests. Depicted with a cross or children, her cult thrives among her sisters’ schools worldwide. Her feast inspires educators, with her joyful faith—captured in her *Journal*—resonating in Catholic devotion.
Books
Written about the saint
Written by the saint
- "Spiritual Journal of Saint Julie Billiart" (preserved by her order)