Claret de la Touche
A Mystic & Victim Soul for the Priesthood
The Order of the Visitation, founded in 1610 by two great Saints - St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal - has the distinction of being particularly favored and commissioned by the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Starting with arguably the most famous member of the Visitandines - St. Mary Margaret Alacoque (d. 1690) - our dear Lord has deigned to reveal the devotion to his Heart and all its secrets to several mystics from within this Order. This month’s Saint Bio is about one of these chosen women.
Margaret Claret de la Touche was born in the French town of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on March 15, 1868. She was plagued from early childhood with poor health, including severe respiratory issues, and nearly died twice, as a result. It was through the fervent prayers of her mother to Our Lady that she was repeatedly saved. Consequently, Margaret developed a spirit of piety uncommon for a youngster.
At 11, Margaret celebrated her First Holy Communion and Confirmation, and was inspired to make a private vow of virginity a few weeks later. Frequent bouts with illness caused her to drift from her initial thoughts of entering a convent ... but through the admirable example of a nun who nursed her during a serious sickness, she regained her desire to become a religious. However, when Margaret shared her intention with her mother, the woman vehemently opposed her daughter.
What followed next was a period of intermitting illnesses and worldly distractions for the young woman, including innocent romantic sentiments towards a soldier and then a lawyer; both relationships eventually led to nothing but, still, they caused her to waiver in regards to her childhood vow of virginity.
Margaret's intense struggles with her calling continued until things turned around after reading a biography of the youthful St. Aloysius Gonzaga. She then clearly understood that she was truly called by God to be a consecrated virgin and resolved to follow-through.
In January 1891, at the age of 22, Margaret finally entered the Visitandine Monastery at Romans, taking the name Sr. Louise Margaret. Her initial years were marked with accute bronchial maladies and uncertainty, but she abandoned herself to God's Will, trusting that He had a plan for her. In fact, sometime during or after her sickness, she began receiving mystical communications from Jesus who guided her in uniting herself to Him. She was professed an official Visitandine nun in October 1892.
A beautiful image of "Jesus of Mercy" painted by Mo. Louise Margaret, herself.
As her spiritual life and ongoing private revelations progressed, Louise Margaret obtained approval from her confessor and superiors to pronounce another vow - one of "total abandonment" to God. The following are from her own words:
"O my God, prostrate in Thy presence,
I adore Thy infinite perfection, I adore
Thy sovereign dominion over all Thy
creatures and, in order to recognise Thy
dominion over me, I make a vow of total
abandonment of my whole being into
Thy hands, allowing Thee to dispose of
me according to Thy good pleasure,
for time and eternity ...
... O Jesus, I abandon myself without
reserve to Thy Divine Heart, giving
Thy love entire liberty of action in me
and around me, wishing to see only
Thy action in all things and to adore
every disposition of Thy will."
And, as time passed, it became clear that this mystic's mission was directed specifically towards the Priesthood. In 1902, she recorded the following words from Christ: "Margaret Mary showed my heart to the world; you will show it to Priests. Later, in the same year, the Lord said to her: "I will give you souls of men. I will give you souls of Priests." When the nun expressed being intimidated by His words, Jesus added: "No, it is for My clergy that you will immolate yourself."
As the revelations escalated, the monastery's chaplain - Fr. Alfred Charrier - ordered the nun to record her extraordinary experiences, which she did reluctantly under obedience. They were later compiled into two books: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood and The Book of Infinite Love. These revelations and the mystic's other writings, which include the Lord’s request for a "Union of Priests", are extensive and won't be covered here, but there are many resources that can be found online. The main gist of the message is this, spoken by the Lord to Sr. Louise Margaret:
"Nineteen centuries ago, twelve men
changed the world; they were not merely
men, but they were Priests. Now, once more
twelve Priests could change the world ...
but they must be holy."
In a nutshell, Jesus desires to sanctify His priests especially through a love and devotion to His Sacred Heart!
Not surprisingly, other charisms surfaced in the wake of the nun's mission. For example, Sr. Louise Margaret sometimes foresaw future events and was also likely stigmatized, but experienced the wounds of the Crucifixion invisibly. In her notes she described "suffering inexpressible pains, and for more than an hour our Lord made me again share in His suffering ... I suffered excruciating pains in all my members, especially my feet, and there remained with me for a long time after the impression of burning heat accompanied with sharp pangs." It all goes to show that the nun was not only called upon by God to deliver an important message to His priests, but she was also chosen to suffer as a victim-soul for them.
As for Sr. Louise Margaret, she went on to be elected the Superior of her monastery during a time of political changes, and hostile religious suppression in France. In 1913, due to internal opposition that arose concerning the messages she received and promoted, Louise Margaret was exiled from her own community. She made her way to Vische, Italy, where with the help of a supportive prelate - Bishop Matteo Filipello - she founded a new monastery in March 1914. The nuns followed the Visitation Rule, but with slight adjustments to allow for certain austerities. The new community eventually became an approved autonomous institution now known as the Bethany of the Sacred Heart.
Mo. Louise Margaret died peacefully on May 14, 1915, at 3:00 PM, surrounded by her spiritual daughters; it was a Friday and she gave witnesses the strong impression that she was mystically crucified in union with our Lord, prior to her passing. She was only 47.
A relic from the clothing of Ven. Louise Margaret, gifted to this ministry by her nuns
from the Bethany of the Sacred Heart.
Today, Mo. Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche is a candidate for Sainthood; her memory is revered in both the Visitation Order and by her own Visitandines in the Bethany of the Sacred Heart. Declared Venerable by the Church in 2006, her Cause requires one recognized miracle to advance this virtuous founder to Beatification; a second miracle for Sainthood. Let us pray that God will bestow abundant favors through the intercession of Mo. Louise Margaret to hasten her hoped-for Canonization.
Mo. Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche,
pray for us and for our Priests!
