Anne-Marie Rivier

Blessed Anne-Marie Rivier (1768-1838) was a Religious Sister in the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church and foundress of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, a religious congregation ministering in eighteen different countries. The Sisters of her congregation celebrate her memorial on 3 February.

Anne-Marie Rivier (known to her family as Marinette) was born on 19 December 1768, in Montpezat-sous-Bauzon in the Ardèche Department, south-central France.

When she was just over a year old, the young Marinette suffered an accident which resulted in a badly broken hip, leaving her unable to walk. Every day, for four years, Marinette’s mother, who was described as a "woman of great faith" brought her to a local Catholic shrine, called the Chapel of the Penitents, where she would spend hours in prayer before a representation of the Pietà (a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son, Jesus, after He had been taken down from the Cross following the Crucifixion). On 8 September 1774, (the Feast of the Birth of Mary), Marinette found that she was able to walk, albeit with the help of crutches. For someone who had been unable to walk for four years, this in itself was something of a miracle; slowly her strength returned, although she was never to be a physically strong person. The fact that Anne-Marie and her mother believed that it was through the intercession of the Mother of Christ that she regained her strength influenced Marinette greatly as would be evident in her choice of name for the religious community she was to establish.

When she was 17 years of age, Marinette applied to join the Sisters of Notre Dame in Pradelles, Haute-Loire but was turned down due to her poor physical health. Undetered, she established a school in her home town the following year, when she was still a teenager. As well as operating a school, Marinette and her fellow workers visited those who were sick and opened a room where unemployed youth could come and volunteer.

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