She survived numerous hardships including the loss of
several siblings to illness. She went to work at the age of
16 to help support her family, and at the age of 23 was
paralyzed by the trauma of nearly being shot in her father's
store. She spent more than 20 years confined to her bed and
unable to care for even her most basic needs.
Julie knew what it was like to
live not only as an invalid but also as a refugee, to suffer
religious persecution, to be shunned as an outcast, and to
be the subject of mean-spirited rumors. In spite of her
suffering, she clung to God and at the age of 53 she founded
the Sisters of Notre Dame.
Julie reached out to the poor
and forgotten; she brought comfort and hope to those around
her; she brought faith to the seeking and the lost, and more
than anything else, she was a witness to the deep loving
goodness of God.
The impact that Julie had on
the world continues to live on in the sisters who claim her
heritage.
On July 12, 1751 in a small
village in Cuvilly, France, Francois and Marie Antoinette
DeBraine gave birth to the fifth of seven children. The
child was baptized that same day and was given the name of
Marie Rose Julie.
Her family were peasant
farmers, who also owned a little shop at Cuvilly in Picardy,
France. When Julie was only eight years old, she would take
on the role of teacher of catechism and Sacred Scripture
while playing, and the children of her own age and older
ones, listened enraptured.
The pastor of the village
recognized the spiritual gifts of the child and taught Julie
how to pray. When she was nine years old, she secretly made
her first communion.
In spite of their meager
income, the Billiarts were a happy family. But repeated
losses brought about real financial pressure and thieves
broke into their shop creating further devastation. When
Julie was only sixteen years of age she had to earn her
living. She was obliged to work, to join the harvesters in
the fields. She used this as an opportunity to teach the
other field workers about their duties as Christians.
One evening while Julie was in
conversation with her father in the old store, a shot came
through the window pane. Julie's nerves were so badly shaken
that her walking and movement were severely impaired. At the
age of twenty-three she was reduced to the condition of an
invalid. Refusing to give into despair, Julie found a way to
overcome her trials. She lived a life of even closer union
with God and taught catechism to the children of the
village. With the aid of crutches she would visit the sick
and hold vigils beside their beds. When she was thirty-one,
her paralysis became complete. For long hours she conversed
with Jesus, absolutely oblivious of what went on around her,
absorbed. She began to receive pupils at her bedside and
teach them catechism.
Then came the French
Revolution, and with it the Civil Constitution for the
Clergy. All priests were remanded to take an oath of
allegiance to the revolutionary authorities. Those priests
who did not, were hunted down. Julie tried to organize the
towns people to reject the "constitutional" priest sent to
replace their pastor and helped to find hiding places for
fugitive priests who rejected the taking of the oath.
When the authorities learned of
her activity, they wanted to burn her alive, causing her to
flee and go into hiding. She fled to Compiegne, France
hidden in a cartload of straw. She suffered much from the
situation and had to keep moving to stay alive. In spite of
her suffering, Julie clung to God.
In the first lull which
followed the end of the Reign of Terror, an old friend
rescued Julie and brought her to Amiens to the house of
Viscount Blin de Bourdon. Francois Blin de Bourdon was
henceforth to be her close friend and her associate in all
her work. In the sickroom of Julie, mass was offered daily
and a little party of women who were inspired by Julie's
suffering soon gathered around her.
However, this calm was not
meant to last, and a recurrence of persecution caused the
group to scatter. Julie and Francois landed at the house
belonging to the Doria family at Bettencourt. During their
stay here, they were visited by Fr. Joseph Varin who was
immensely struck by the personality and capabilities of
Julie. He was convinced that God intended her to do great
things. Under his direction, the foundations of the
Institute of Notre Dame were laid. The Institute was to
devote itself primarily to the spiritual care of poor
children, the Christian education of girls of all classes,
and to the training of religious teachers.
During a novena to the Sacred
Heart of Jesus, on June 1, 1804, Julie was miraculously
cured. She was fifty-three years old.
Three torches lit up the path
of Julie Billiart: a lively faith, a boundless charity and a
keen sense of the goodness of God. "Ah! How good is the good
God!"
In January, 1816, Julie became
seriously ill. On April 8, while she was repeating the
Magnificat, Julie died and entered eternal life. Julie was
65 years old when she died.
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