Marguerite d'Youville
Canadian saint (1701-1771)
Feast: 16 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais was born at Varennes, Quebec, on 15 October 1701, eldest of six children. Her father died when she was seven, leaving the family very poor; thanks to her great-grandfather she studied two years with the Ursulines of Quebec, then helped her mother at home.
A wife and mother, when widowed she raised two of her sons for the priesthood, and gave herself wholly to caring for the sick, the old and the needy of every kind, founding for them the Sisters of Charity.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A widow and mother who became a mother to the sick, the old and the poor.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Marie Marguerite d'Youville
- Wikidata Q288990 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Marie-Marguerite d'Youville (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.