About Alphonse Marie
Spiritual Profile
Who Elisabeth Eppinger was within — from a child’s longing to pray, through years of illness and mystical graces, to the woman who led a congregation with humility and a firm hand. In her own words: „Everything for the honour of God and the salvation of the world!“
1814
born in Niederbronn in Alsace, the eldest of eleven children
1823
spiritual guidance of Father Jean David Reichard — until her death
1846
a second grave illness, the gift of visions and deep ecstasy
1848
Bishop Räss examines the mystical phenomena; the inner call to found a work
1849
the congregation is founded, built on poverty and simplicity
1850
religious vows and the name Alphonse Marie; eighteen years leading the work
A rare flower of Alsace — origins and childhood
Elisabeth Eppinger was born on 9 September 1814 in Niederbronn in northern Alsace, the eldest of eleven children of a poor farming family. She grew up in simple circumstances, shared the daily hardships of the house and took part in the life of the parish.
The school of suffering — guidance and formation
From her youth she was drawn to contemplating the Lord’s passion, from which she drew strength. From 1823 until her death she was guided spiritually by Father Jean David Reichard — it was he who wrote down what Elisabeth said or dictated. Her temperament was defiant, yet she did not give up: she submitted all her activities to him, let herself be constantly guided, and so became a model of obedience for life. She nourished a great trust in God’s mercy and in every circumstance was ready to flee from sin.
The ecstatic of Niederbronn — mystical graces
In 1846, during a second illness — longer and more painful than the first — she received the gift of visions. The mystical presence of Christ, who appeared to her, spoke to her and consoled her, led her into deep ecstasy. Later she foretold future things that came to pass within a short time, and perceived what lay hidden in a person’s heart. Word of her spread throughout France and even to Rome; on some days she received up to eighty visitors in her parents’ house. Even so she remained inwardly recollected, serene and cheerful. The mystical phenomena were recorded between 1849 and 1853 by the priest Claude Ignace Busson; the bishop of Strasbourg, André Räss, came in July 1848 to verify them in person, and each time had the impression of standing before a strong soul of extraordinary virtue who fled from the noise of the crowd.
The call to found a work and the birth of the congregation
In September 1848 she fully understood the restlessness that had come over her: human suffering, which she herself had long endured as a sick person, is the fundamental obstacle to understanding the love God offers to all. She clearly heard the inner call to found an institute. From this intuition grew a work caring for the poor and the sick in their own homes.
On 22 January 1849 Father Reichard handed Bishop Räss the First Rules which Elisabeth had dictated. Though gravely ill, she suddenly recovered and set to work, to which she devoted herself without pause from that day on. The congregation was founded on 28 August 1849, built on complete poverty and great simplicity; out of reverence for Saint Alphonsus Liguori she took the religious name Alphonse Marie, and on 2 January 1850 she made her religious vows in Niederbronn.
„Suffer, be silent and pray!“
„This is my work!“
She ended one letter to a sick sister with these 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
Virtues in everyday life — as others saw her
In her apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls she was not spared suffering, contempt or the objections of opponents — and even amid adversity she remained full of joy. She never let outward activity disturb her union with God. She knew how to unite prayer and work. She possessed heroic fortitude and showed it in love of God and of neighbour; she loved sinners but rejected their sin, and always confessed her own littleness. She urged the sisters to help the most abandoned, especially during the wars and in the time of cholera and typhus, and to flee from praise and seek only what serves the glory of God.
Her words
„Suffer, be silent and pray!“
In brief
The three groups of her virtues
Her spiritual life is a single whole — the theological, cardinal and vow-related virtues run through one another and lead to complete surrender to God.