St. Leonie Aviat (Leonie Françoise de Sales Aviat)

Ø  Co-founded the congregation of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales along with Blessed Father Louis Brisson Ø  Motto : “Let us work for the happiness of others”
Born	16 September 1844 , Sezanne, France
Died	10 January 1914 , Perugia, Italy
Beatified	27 September 1992, Rome by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	25 November 2001, Rome by Pope John Paul II
Feast	10th Jan

Religious, Co- founder of the Oblates of St. Francis of Sales, she was born in Sézanne, France. The textile factories at the time contracted very young girls who came from the rural areas. Because of this, in 1858 Father Louis Brisson began the St. Francis de Sales Work, to offer them a Christian and human education. In Leonie (this was the future saint´s baptismal name) he found the collaborator he needed. He founded the Sisters Oblates of St. Francis of Sales in 1866. The congregation placed  under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales .Pius X approved its constitutions in 1911. Leonie, who took the name Françoise de Sales when she entered the convent, became the first superior general. In addition to initiatives for labor, she founded schools for general basic education in parishes, and a residence for young girls in Paris. On January 10, 1914 she died in Perugia after entrusting herself totally to God. To her last breath, she remained faithful to the resolution she had taken at the time of her profession: “To forget myself entirely.” Later, her evangelizing work extended to Europe, South Africa and Ecuador, with the motto: “Let us work for the happiness of others.” She was beatified in 1992 and canonized on November 25, 2001. Her feast is on Jan 10th .