Maria Leonia Paradis (1840–1912)

Biography

She entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross, and then founded an independent institute: the Little Sisters of the Holy Family. After a holy life full of apostolic zeal, she died in Sherbrooke, Quebec on May 5, 1912; humble among the humble, she ranks today among the that God has elevated to glory, and it gives me joy that this beatification is the first to take place in Canada. “Born of humble, poor and virtuous parents, she early grasped the beauty of religious life, and without ever doubting her calling, she frequently asked: “Lord, show me your ways,” to know the concrete way in which she should serve the Church. She discovered and proposed to her spiritual daughters a special commitment: that of serving in educational centers, in seminaries and houses of priests. He was not afraid of various forms of manual labor, which is the task of many people today and was an honor to the Holy Family and the very life of Jesus in Nazareth. In this he saw precisely God's will for his life. He knew that he joined the fundamental attitude of Christ “come not to be served, but to serve.” It was fully invaded by the greatness of the Eucharist and by the greatness of the priesthood at the service of the Eucharist; “In this he had one of the secrets of his spiritual motivations.”