Venerable Pauline Jaricot

Pauline Marie Jaricot (22 July 1799 – 9 January 1862) was a French member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic. She also was the founder of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and the Association of the Living Rosary. Pope John XXIII ratified the first step of her beatification process, declaring her venerable. On 26 May 2020, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to her intercession as the final requirement for beatification. The ceremony was celebrated on 22 May 2022 in Lyon by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Pauline Jaricot was born in Lyon, France, on 22 July 1799, the youngest of seven children of Antoine and Jeanne Jaricot. Her father owned a silk factory in Lyon. Her brother, Philéas, was a missionary in Quangnam. At fifteen years of age Pauline was introduced into the social life of the city. Subsequently, a sermon on vanity made a deep impression on her. At the age of seventeen, a serious fall left her with nerve damage which affected her movement and speech. Then her mother and older brother died. Jaricot isolated herself while her health continued to deteriorate. Her condition, now thought to be Sydenham's chorea, slowly improved. She began to lead a life of intense prayer, and on Christmas Day, 1816, took a vow of perpetual virginity. She established a union of prayer among pious servant girls, the members of which were known as the "Réparatrices du Sacré-Coeur de Jésus-Christ". Pauline went on to become a pioneer of organized support for Catholic missionary work. Along with women employed in the silk factory run by her sister and brother-in-law, she resolved to help the missions with prayers and a small weekly contribution of one penny a week from each participant. The seed grew and other groups joined to help all missions. This eventually led to the founding in 1822 of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, dedicated to supporting missionary efforts worldwide.