Blessed Émilie d'Oultremont

Émilie d'Oultremont (11 October 1818 – 22 February 1878) – in religion Marie of Jesus – was a Belgian Roman Catholic widow and later religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix. She had four children and two of them, both daughters, joined her order and later predeceased her. She dedicated herself to the expansion of her order and sent religious to places such as England and India. Pope John Paul II beatified her on 12 October 1997 in Saint Peter's Square. Emilie was born to Count Émile d'Oultremont (21 July 1787 – 4 August 1851) and Marie-Charlotte de Lierneux de Presles (28 July 1785 – 14 September 1850) at the Wégimont Castle as a member of the House of d'Oultremont, which had ruled in the region for centuries. Her father helped to negotiate the independence of the Belgian people from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830. Her two brothers were Charles (1819–1874) and Théodore (1 May 1815-???). Her father later served as the Belgian ambassador to the Vatican in Rome and she often accompanied him on his numerous visits across Europe. In her childhood Emilie came to learn about Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and developed a devotion to him, as well as to both the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. In 1833 she went to live in Rome with her parents due to her father's diplomatic assignment and later moved there again from 1839 to 1846 (with her husband in tow this time), while going back to Belgium each summer. After Emilie turned eighteen, her parents began to arrange a marriage for her despite her hesitation, though she later relented. On 19 October 1837 she married Victor van der Linden d’Hooghvorst (1813 – 10 August 1847); the couple had four children (two males and two females). Her husband died of malaria on 10 August 1847 leaving her a widow.