Educating young people for a better future

Marie-Rose Julie Billiart was born on July 12, 1751, in Cuvilly, north of Paris, France. She was the seventh of nine children, many of whom died at a young age. From childhood, she felt called by the Lord to follow him. One event marked her for life: in 1774, her father survived an attempted murder. This was followed, in 1782, by a medical error that caused paralysis in her legs.