A Chain of the Thanksgiving Holy Masses
for the Gift of the Beatification of Alphonse Marie
wherever the Sisters of this Foundress live…
The festive Beatification of Mother Alphonse Marie took place on September 9, 2018, in Notre-Dame Cathedral of Strasburg. The next day, there was a Thanksgiving Holy Mass in the birthplace of the new Blessed Alphonse Marie in Niederbronn, Alsace, in the presence of the Sisters and lay people from all over the world.
Homily of Cardinal Kurt Koch
of the Thanksgiving Holy Mass for the Beatification of Alphonse Marie Eppinger
in the Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Campo Santo Teutonico in the Vatican,
on October 29, 2018
To be blessed, because we are loved by God
Today’s reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Galatians contains only two verses, and in its brevity it is unsurpassed. However, its significance cannot be underestimated at all. These two verses determine the spiritual autobiography, which St. Paul explains to his readers and leads them to be the witnesses of conversion, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:19b-20a). These words explain the essence of becoming and being a Christian: this “I”, which wants to be an autonomous and self-confident person, must die, it must be changed into a new person and be re-admitted to the wider “I”. Who allows this conversion to be done in his heart, become believer, as St. Paul notices further, Insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who had loved me and given himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20b).
Beatification of Sister Alphonse Marie Eppinger
(Strasbourg September 9, 2018)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, the Church of Strasbourg is pleased that one of her daughters, Sister Alphonse Marie Eppinger, is registered to the list of the blessed and can serve her as a model for a life in the Gospel. We know that the whole diocese has been preparing for this day by reflecting on the universal call to holiness and asking the question of how to become holy now a day. The solemn event of the beatification, 150 years after her death, is a providential opportunity to rediscover the relevance of her message and the actuality of the figure of this outstanding woman, given a living witness of Christian life with a deep spiritual imprint. Continue reading
The Church venerates the Blessed and Saints as a model of Christian life. By her beatification, she represents a certain person as an example of Christian life for the Church of that country, Diocese and in our case, also our communities in the world. By canonization this veneration is spread in the whole universal Church. By beatification, the person is venerated also liturgically – first in the local Church and by canonization in the universal Church. The act of beatification is simple: the Diocesan Bishop asks the Prefect Cardinal, the legate of the Holy Father, for beatification completed during the Eucharistic celebration. The Prefect Cardinal answers by an Apostolic letter – a Decree Concerning the Liturgical Cult of the Beatified Person.
The Process of the Beatification of Mother Alphonse Marie Eppinger is in its final stage. After the recognition of the miracle through her intercession, the case will definitely be closed by the solemn act of Beatification. The celebration will take place on Sunday, September 9, 2018 at 2:30 PM, in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Strasburg, France by Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.