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Élisabeth Leseur

Servant of God
Born     16 October
Paris, France
Died     3 May (aged 47)
Paris, France

Élisabeth Arrighi Leseur (October 16, –May 3, ), born Pauline Élisabeth Arrighi, was a French mystic best known for her spiritual diary and the conversion of her husband, Félix Leseur (–), a medical doctor and well known leader of the French anti-clerical, atheistic movement.

The cause for the beatification of Elisabeth Leseur was started in Her current status in the process is that of a Servant of God.

Contents

1 Life
2 Spirituality
3 Legacy
4 References

Life

Élisabeth was born in Paris to a wealthy bourgeois French family of Corsican descent.

ÉLISABETH LESEUR: THE THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX FOR MARRIED WOMEN

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She had had hepatitis as a child, and it recurred throughout her life with attacks of varying severity. She met medical doctor Félix Leseur (–), also from an affluent, Catholic family in Shortly before they married on July 31, , Élisabeth discovered that Félix was no longer a practicing Catholic. Dr. Félix Leseur soon became well known as the editor of an anti-clerical, atheistic newspaper in Paris.[citation needed] Well-to-do by birth and marriage, she was a part of a social group that was cultured, educated, and generally antireligious.

The attachment of the couple was strong, though overshadowed by the childlessness of the marriage and their ever-growing religious disagreement.

Rather conventionally religious in her younger years, Élisabeth Leseur was prompted by the attacks of her husband against Christianity and religion to probe deeper into her faith.

Elisabeth leseur quotes Spiritual writer; b. Paris, Oct. Paris, May 3, She was the eldest of five children of a cultivated background, and attended a small private school. Paradoxically, the book awakened her dormant faith, and her Spiritual Journal begins at this point.

She thus underwent a religious conversion at the age of thirty-two. From this time on, she saw her major task in praying for the conversion of her husband, while remaining patient with his constant attacks on her faith.

When she was able, she worked on charitable projects for poor families and funded other charitable activities.

Largerly unknown by her husband, she had a vast spiritual correspondence for many years. She was concerned about the &#;poor&#; or the &#;least,&#; but her deteriorating health restricted her ability to respond to this concern.

The secret diary of elisabeth leseur A s a married woman and mystic whose prayer and suffering converted her atheist husband, Elisabeth Leseur is a compelling example of holiness lived in the context of marriage and in secular society. Raised in a wealthy Parisian home as the daughter of a distinguished lawyer, Elisabeth married Felix Leseur, a journalist and diplomat. A few years into their marriage, Elisabeth experienced a conversion that led her to embrace a hidden path of union with God in the environment of her marriage and social life. Her husband Felix, an atheist, was involved in the anti-Catholic movement, along with many friends who were hostile to the faith. In addition to this emotional and spiritual sorrow, Elisabeth suffered from many physical ailments, including liver problems, typhoid fever, and intestinal issues.

In her health deteriorated to the extent that she was forced to lead a primarily sedentary life, receiving visitors and directing her household from a chaiselonge. In she had surgery and radiation for a malignant tumor, recovered, and then was bedridden by July She died from generalized cancer in May
Spirituality

From the beginning, she organized her spiritual life around a disciplined pattern of prayer, meditation, reading, sacramental practice, and writing.

Charity was the organizing principle of her asceticism. In her approach to mortification, she followed Francis de Sales who recommended moderation and internal, hidden strategies instead of external practices.

Legacy

After her death, her husband found a note by her addressed to himself, that prophesied about his conversion and him becoming a priest.

In order to get rid of such &#;superstition&#;, Félix left for the Marian shrine of Lourdes, wanting to expose the reports of the healings there as fake. At the Lourdes grotto however, he experienced a religious conversion. Félix subsequently published his wife&#;s journal, Journal et pensées pour chaque jour; and due to its favorable reception, a year later in , published some of his wife&#;s letters under the title of Lettres sur la Souffrance.

Servant of god elisabeth leseur biography She was a woman who had to endure many trials in her married life. Her way of living, as well as her prayers and sacrifices, ultimately led to the conversion of her husband, Felix Leseur, an adamant atheist who had so often opposed and ridiculed Elizabeth for her faith. Elisabeth Arrighi Leseur , daughter of Antoine and Marie- Laure Arrighi , was born in into a wealthy and sophisticated family in Paris. She and her siblings were brought up and educated like any other Catholic family of the time. From her childhood, Elisabeth stood out for her devout way of life.

In the fall of he became a Dominican novice. He was ordained a priest in and spent much of his remaining twenty seven years publicly speaking about his wife&#;s spiritual writings. He was instrumental in opening the cause for Elisabeth&#;s beatification in

In the year , Fulton J. Sheen, who would later become an archbishop and popular American television and radio figure, made a retreat under the direction of Fr.

Leseur. During many hours of spiritual direction, Sheen learned of the life of Elisabeth and the conversion of Félix.

My spirit rejoices elisabeth leseur

Her current status in the process is that of a Servant of God. She had had hepatitis as a child, and it recurred throughout her life with attacks of varying severity. She thus underwent a religious conversion at the age of thirty-two. From this time on, she saw her major task in praying for the conversion of her husband, while remaining patient with his constant attacks on her faith. When she was able, she worked on charitable projects for poor families and funded other charitable activities.

Sheen subsequently repeated this conversion story in many of his presentations.

References

Leseur O.P., Fr. Felix, &#;In Memoriam&#;, Journal et pensees de chaque jour, Paris,
Ruffing R.S.M. , Janet K., &#;Physical Illness: A Mystically Transformative Element in the Life of Elizabeth Leseur&#;, Spiritual Life, Vol, Number 4, Winter
Ruffing R.S.M., Janet K., &#;Elizabeth Laseur: A Strangely Forgotten Modern Saint&#;, in Lay Sanctity, Medieval and Modern, Ann W.

Astrell, ed.

* Sheen, Fulton J. &#;Marriage Problems&#; (part 40 of a recorded catechism, available online]

Tagged as: Elites, Family, France, Leaders, Nobility, Royal and Noble Saints