Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis 1793-1875

By Pgannon

  • Born

    Marie Teresa Chappuis was born on June 16, 1793 in Soyhieres amid the Jura mountains in Switzerland.

  • Poor health

    Though she was of poor health, she entered the Visitation community of Fribourg and professed her vows in 1816 as Sister Mary Francis de Sales.

  • Death

    Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis died on October 7, 1875, in the Visitation Monastery at Troyes. Her cause for canonization still continues with that of her co-founder, Father Louis Brisson. As Salesians, we celebrate her contribution to the Church on October 12th, Oblate Founders Day.

  • Visitation Community

    After the French Revolution, she re-established the Visitation community in Troyes, France and became known as Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis. Her principal focus of prayerful devotion was the Sacred Humanity of Christ, which led her to appreciate the unique humanity of everyone she met.

  • Opening school

    Eventually, they opened a school for young girls to learn the spiritual ways of Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Jane de Chantal. These young women would learn the practical skills necessary to live in an industrialized world.