Mother Mary Veronica

Venerable Mary Veronica of the Passion O.C.D.
Foundress of the Apostolic Carmel
Born	Sophie Leeves (1823-10-01)1 October 1823 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died	16 November 1906(1906-11-16) (aged 83) Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Mother Mary Veronica of the Passion, O.C.D. founded the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, a religious congregation of the Discalced Carmelite Third Order for women based in India.

She was born as Sophie Leeves in 1823 in Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire, to the Reverend Henry Daniel Leeves, an Anglican chaplain to the British Embassy there, and to Sophia Mary Haultain, the daughter of a Colonel in the British army.

When Sophie was in her teens a change came over her. She spent long hours in prayers. She was like a child crying for the light. Her spirit craved for something that was beyond her reach. She did not know what she wanted. God had his plans for her. "Easter Tuesday ended in a dark night" she writes. "I blew out the last candles. The house was still. Suddenly a clear but soft voice broke the stillness and I heard these words distinctly 'My peace I leave you; My peace I give you'. Then all was still again, the night as well as my heart".

She felt drawn to the Catholic Church, especially the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion. Mrs. Leeves and others were annoyed at this. But Sophie felt that God was leading her to unknown paths. She broke off the engagement she had made with Kenneth-a young and handsome naval officer.

She was received into the Catholic Church on 2 February 1850 in Malta. The following year, she went to France where she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, which had been founded in 1836 by Saint Emily de Vialar. After completing the novitiate, she was professed as a member of the congregation on 14 September 1851 and received the name Sister Mary Veronica of the Passion.