About Alphonse Marie
Biography
From her birth in Niederbronn in Alsace in 1814, through the years of illness and mystical graces, to the founding of the congregation and her death in 1867.
09. 09. 1814
birth of Elisabeth Eppinger in Niederbronn (France)
10. 09. 1814
baptism of Elisabeth
13. 04. 1828
first Holy Communion
10. 05. 1928
sacrament of confirmation
1831 – 1834
Elisabeth is confined to bed by a serious illness
1841
Elisabeth is confined to bed by a serious illness
1845 – 1849
Elisabeth is again confined to bed
1847
she feels the need to care for the poor and to pray for the conversion of sinners
28. 08. 1849
she founds the Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Redeemer
10. 09. 1849
she receives the religious habit and the religious name: Alphonse Marie
02. 01. 1850
religious vows of Sister Alphonse Marie
1854
she sends sisters to Würzburg
1857
she establishes a community in Vienna
1863
she establishes a community in Sopron
11. 04. 1866
she obtains papal recognition of the congregation
21. 03. 1866
she painfully experiences the separation of the house in Vienna
15. 06. 1866
she painfully experiences the separation of the house in Würzburg
13. 06. 1867
separation of the house in Sopron
31. 07. 1867
Mother Alphonse Marie passes into eternity
Childhood and youth in Niederbronn
Elisabeth was the first-born of eleven children of a modest peasant family. Her parents, devout and God-fearing farmers, lived honestly and, despite hard and exhausting work, prayed the rosary together every day, striving to give all their children a good Christian upbringing. From her earliest years Elisabeth was of a gentle nature and serious mind; although she was of frail health, weak and uneducated (she went to school late and learned only to read, not to write — apart from her own signature), from the age of three she wanted to pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary by herself. The more she came to know God, the more clearly she grasped the nature of sin, and she resolved to fight against it.Her spiritual direction was given by the parish priest Jean David Reichard, a priest of holy life and a good judge of people, who accompanied her from 1823 and later recorded her accounts — until her death in 1867. On 13 April 1828, at the age of fourteen, she made her first Holy Communion; her confessor later allowed her — against the custom of the time — to receive the Eucharist every eight days. Shortly afterwards she also received the sacrament of confirmation.
Years of trial — illness and mystical graces
After years of good health, serious illnesses came upon Elisabeth: from 1831 to 1834 she was confined to bed, in 1841 again for a year and a half, and finally from 1845 to 1849 she was once more gravely ill. In all she spent seven and a half years, with interruptions, confined to bed — yet the way she accepted her suffering made an extraordinarily favourable impression on all who visited her.During her illness she received mystical gifts, above all an exceptional gift of discernment: she was able to look into human hearts and to foretell future events. Especially in 1846 she received visions of the mystical Jesus Christ, who spoke to her, and she fell into deep ecstasy. Word of her spread quickly throughout France and even as far as Rome — on some days as many as 80 people visited her parental home. The bishop of Strasbourg, Msgr André Räss, came in July 1848 to verify these phenomena in person; at every meeting he saw in her a strong soul of extraordinary virtue, one who shunned the attention of the crowd.
The inner call and the founding of the congregation
In September 1848 a clear inner call matured in her: to found a religious institute that would serve the nursing of the poor sick in their own homes. On 22 January 1849 the parish priest Reichard presented to the bishop the First Rules, which Elisabeth had dictated to him. At that time, although gravely ill, she was suddenly healed and with renewed strength set about carrying out the work, to which she then devoted herself tirelessly until the end of her life.With the consent of the diocesan bishop of Strasbourg, the new Congregation of the Daughters of the Divine Redeemer (also called the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Saviour) came into being on 28 August 1849. Less than a month later, on 10 September 1849, she received the religious habit and, out of devotion to Saint Alphonsus Liguori, a new religious name — Sister Alphonse Marie. She made her religious vows on 2 January 1850 in Niederbronn, where the mother house of the congregation was established, and Bishop Räss appointed her the first superior general.
The growth of the work and the trials of the foundress
The work grew, but the foundress was accompanied by trials both inner and outer. In spite of them she remained faithful to the conviction that this was God’s work and not her own.
Despite her successes the foundress also had many opponents; Jesus, however, comforted her in visions with the words:
“Suffer, be silent and pray!”
“This is my work!”
She ended one letter to a sick sister with the words:
“God wants you to become a great saint. Let him do it according to his will. You will lose nothing.”
Mother Alphonse Marie, letter to a sister
Death and spiritual legacy
Wholly consumed in love for God and for people, Mother Alphonse Marie died on 31 July 1867 in Niederbronn — at the very time of the great growth and expansion of the congregation she had founded. Her work continued in communities in France, Germany, Austria and Hungary, and to this day she is venerated as Blessed Alphonse Marie (Elisabeth) Eppinger.
Her words
“Suffer, be silent and pray!”
Summary
Her spiritual profile in brief
Alphonse Marie lived above all from a deep trust in God’s mercy and from the obedience she had made her own since childhood. The strong spirit in her frail, lifelong ailing body showed itself in heroic patience in suffering and in zealous love for the poor, the sick and sinners. The mystical graces she received from her youth she always understood only as a help on the way of faith, never as an end in themselves. This spiritual depth is presented in more detail on the page Spiritual Profile and Virtues.
Theological virtues
Faith, hope and love as the foundation of her whole spiritual life.
Cardinal virtues
Prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude in everyday action.
Virtues of the vows
Chastity, poverty and obedience, which she lived in the religious community.