Leonie Aviat
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Saint Léonie Aviat |
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|---|---|
c. 1895
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| Religious | |
| Born |
16 September 1844 Sézanne, Marne, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 10 January 1914 (aged 69) Perugia, Kingdom of Italy |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 27 September 1992, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | 25 November 2001, Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II |
| Feast | 10 January |
| Attributes | Religious habit |
| Patronage |
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| Saint Françoise de Sales | |
|---|---|
| Léonie Aviat | |
| Religion | Roman Catholic Church |
| Institute | Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Personal | |
| Nationality | French |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Superior General |
| Period in office |
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Saint Léonie Aviat (16 September 1844 – 10 January 1914) - in religious Françoise de Sales - was a Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-founder of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales alongside Blessed Louis Brisson. Aviat served on two separate occasions as the Superior General for her order though in the interim period between the two terms had to grapple with the disrespect on the part of her two immediate successors. But she nevertheless offered this suffering to God and was held in high esteem among most within her congregation. The nun's sole focus was on those seeking work while attempting to fuse work and faith as something inseparable that leads to greater living and working standards as a right and part of human dignities.
Her death in 1914 prompted all to regard her as a saint and the canonization cause started under Pope Pius XII on 9 April 1957 in which she became titled as a Servant of God while the confirmation of her life of heroic virtue on 1 December 1978 allowed for Pope John Paul II to title her as Venerable. The confirmation of a miracle from South Africa allowed for her beatification on 27 September 1992 while another from the United States allowed for her canonization on 25 November 2001.
Léonie Aviat was born in Sézanne on 16 September 1844 to the shopkeepers Theodore Aviat and Emilie Caillot; she was baptized on 17 September in the local parish church.
In 1845 she attended the convent school of the Visitation in Troyes as a boarder. But while attending the school from 1845 to 1860 she was taught - and received spiritual guidance - from the Servant of God Marie de Sales Chappuis (the superior) and the priest Blessed Louis Brisson (the chaplain). As soon as she arrived she began preparing for her First Communion and it was proposed to her that she make her first ever Penance prior to her first reception of the Eucharist. The girl made a serious examination of conscience and went to the confessional but was so overcome with emotion that she cried to her confessor who was Brisson. The priest had known her well before she came to the school and to ease her said: "What? So the little girl I have so many sugared almonds to before is afraid of me?" Aviat received both her First Communion and her Confirmation from Bishop of Troyes Pierre-Louis Coeur on 2 July 1856. But her return home in 1860 was far from smooth for her parents wanted her to wed a rich man both happened to like. Aviat disagreed with her parents and announced her intention to become a religious but her father was opposed to this idea. In 1866 she made a spiritual retreat as a means of attempting to make a definitive decision as to her future. Aviat approached both Brisson and Chappuis who advised her to wait and she deemed this to be the will of God. This vocation solidified further when she visited one of the factories where glasses were made and repaired in Sézanne: the sight of the workman doing their jobs under their supervisor inspired her to be with them to counsel and guide them towards God while affirming the importance of their work.
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