Farmer before being called by the Parish Priest
It may seem surprising that Catherine Lassagne is so little known, even by those who love or revere the Curé d’Ars. In 1862, during the beatification process, she introduced herself as follows: “My name is Catherine Lassagne. I was born in Ars on May 8, 1806, to Christian parents. I was a farmer until Mr. Vianney put me in charge, with two other daughters, of the management of Providence that he had founded.”
A child of Ars
Catherine was therefore born in 1806 in Ars, and grew up in the hamlet of Tonneau. She is the third of the nine children of Antoine Lassagne and Claudine Sève. She was 12 years old when the young Father Vianney arrived in Ars in February 1818 (he was 32 years old), and this arrival would profoundly mark his life. Catherine says: “In the beginning, my mother never finished dressing me or combing my hair. She spent endless time in my little toilet. But Mr. Vianney had barely been in Ars a few weeks before everything was significantly changed. In no time, I was equipped and we were going to church.” The life of the Lassagne family is thus turned upside down; Madame Lassagne, touched by the teachings and example of Mr. Vianney, then invites her children to a life of authentic prayer.
Catherine had attended the Ars school during the winter months, but it was mainly work on the family farm that kept her busy. She also prepared, alongside her new priest, for the first communion. She looked at him with shyness, especially since many rumors were already circulating about him, his long hours in church, his strong penances,… “A priest like no other” they murmured. He had gotten into the habit, at the end of Sunday vespers, of bringing together some young people from the village in his garden; he told them about the lives of saints, they prayed and exchanged, or ate gooseberries… Catherine thus became more familiar with her priest, and Father Vianney quickly discerned in her her generosity and the quality of her soul. She therefore grew up in the school of her parish priest, a demanding priest with those from whom he perceived the magnitude of the gift to which the Lord destined them. Catherine, however, could not help but sometimes find the hand that led her rough. “For nearly ten years, she had as much fear as veneration for this director,” it was noted.
The time would come when the penitent would find such rigor normal. Despite her virtue, she took a long time to get used to it. “In the first ten years, she prayed to God to remove her servant from Ars, because his leadership seemed so beyond her strength. Tested by God through scruples, without consolation on earth, without spiritual joy at the holy tribunal, Catherine was truly in the crucible and, without knowing it, rose to perfection,” reports a witness.
The call of the Holy Curé
What would become of Catherine? As soon as he arrived in Ars, Jean-Marie Vianney had noticed the deplorable conditions in which boys and girls were educated there.
He wanted to remedy this by starting by training mothers, like what he had received from his own: “Virtue passes so well from the hearts of mothers to the hearts of children,” he remarked. His project matured, and he decided to open a house to welcome the young girls of Ars and offer them practical, human and spiritual training; but who to rely on? – He then thought of Catherine.
The Curé of Ars therefore went to the Lassagne house – it was at the end of 1822 or the beginning of 1823 – he found the mistress of the house:
— Mother Lassagne, you must give me Catherine, I will educate her a little, and she will teach others what she knows.
And the mother, worthy of the blessed child she had raised, responded generously:
– Oh ! take it, Mr. Priest!
The young girl’s departure would throw disarray in the family, where she provided so much service, especially to her brothers and sisters. The Lassagnes, however, complied.
— What are we going to do without Catherine? the parents said to themselves. But since the Curé needs it, we cannot refuse it to him.
Director of “Providence”
School for girls
Catherine, accompanied by another young girl from Ars, Benoîte Lardet, therefore left to “train” for a year with nuns a few kilometers from Ars.
In the fall of 1824, the Maison de Providence opened; it was first a school for young girls, then very quickly it became an orphanage, which welcomed up to eighty children.
Catherine would become its “director”, but above all its soul for many years. She was at the same time the mother of the young girls welcomed, the mistress who taught, the one to whom one could say everything, who had a kind eye and a heart towards everything and everyone, and who always worked in full communion with her priest.
Life at the House of Providence is sometimes a miracle; we feel immersed in the Gospel, completely abandoned to the will of God or to the intercession of his saints.
There is no shortage of miracles, but life is hard, especially for the directors who have to struggle to feed the children or keep the house running smoothly.
On the advice of Mr. the Cure, Catherine and her companions are interested in the development of the whole person, and therefore both in the body, in human and intellectual training, and in the soul; Mr. Vianney also comes to teach catechism to the orphans every day.
Life at La Providence
From this period, Catherine was also, reluctantly, the first biographer of her priest. Indeed, from 1839, on the advice of a passing priest, she regularly noted what she saw of life at Providence or Ars; she writes her impressions, the remarks or events in the life of her priest, what she senses or perceives, all with authenticity, honesty and freshness. These notes will become the first draft of a small “Memoir on Monsieur Vianney”, the third and final version of which will be ready in 1867, eight years after the death of his holy Curé.
Departure from La Providence
In 1848, at the request of the bishop, the house of Providence was entrusted to the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Catherine retires, certainly in pain but also in peace, and comes to live near her priest. She will then only take care of him, the church or the sick; she thus became a prayerful and dedicated presence near the holy Curé, overloaded by the influx of pilgrims or parish responsibilities. She will be close to him every day, receiving or sharing his confidences, carrying his burdens as much as she can.
Memory of Ars and first biographer
Catherine Lassagne, “memory” of Ars
After the death of the priest of Ars, in 1859, she survived him for more than twenty-four years, surrounded by the friendship and veneration of all. Mgr Fourrey recounts that, while passing through Ars, Mgr de Langalerie, former bishop of Belley who became archbishop of Auch, “translated everyone’s thoughts in a public speech, during the major celebrations of August 4, 1874.
After expressing his happiness at seeing the blessed village again, at visiting the poor room, at praying at the tomb of his friend, he added: “What joy also for us to see this good Catherine, living relic of our dear Venerable!” The day before, in fact, the prelate had entered Catherine’s house: “Come, my daughter, let us speak for a few moments about our good Saint!” They went to the Venerable’s garden and there, in a long conversation, they recalled the details of this marvelous story, of which Ars had been the scene and Mr. Vianney the hero.
She will remain, humble and prayerful, at the service of “her” church and the pilgrims. Then, tired and almost infirm, Catherine would not be able to stay alone in her home. Her youngest sister came to live with her, but she only had a short time to live.
The anonymous notice, written the day after his death, October 13, 1883, states: “For several months, it was noted with concern that his strength was diminishing; his head, usually curved, was inclined more. She herself spoke of her end without fear or worry. So, last Wednesday, October 10, when nothing yet suggested misfortune, she said with a smile to one of her relatives:
– I am ready…
— When the Good Lord wants…
— I don’t care about anything here below, or if I am attached to something, I don’t know it.
Thursday, at ten o’clock in the evening, she felt seized by a violent attack of oppression.
Father Toccanier and the Missionaries of Ars came running at dawn.
— “What is the matter with you, Miss Catherine?
– Oh ! I feel sick to death, she said softly.
“She received the last sacraments and, during the day, never stopped talking about her departure… Also, what recommendations were made to her! How many commissions were given to him for the Curé of Ars! »
Mr. Toccanier had particularly pressing messages to convey to his glorious predecessor. He insisted that Catherine perform well the office he entrusted to her.
— “But,” she remarked, smiling, “I’m not going to know how to manage up there…”
– ” Well ! replied the abbot in the same pleasant tone, you will look around you. You will see how the Saints do it and you will do like them…”
On Saturday the 13th, at four o’clock in the morning, “the Missionaries were warned that the agony was beginning; they rushed to give him the recommendations of the soul. It was noticed that the dying woman’s gaze rose little by little and focused on a point from which her eyes no longer moved. What did this look see? Perhaps the exile had a vision of the homeland. Perhaps the Curé of Ars came to seek his soul so worthy of entering into the joy of his Master. Only angels know. But this look must have embraced a vision of hope, because the agony was sweet and the last sigh was a light breath.
Thus lived and left the one that Jean-Marie Vianney called: “the most beautiful flower in my garden”. A very simple and completely given life, hidden but very fruitful, and full of comfort for the one who would become “the holy Curé of Ars”.
Article taken from the Annales d’Ars n° 283[mars-avril 2003] .
