Leonie Aviat

Saint Léonie Aviat, OSFS
Mother Françoise de Sales Aviat, OSFS
Religious Sister, Educator, Foundress
Born	Léonie Aviat (1844-09-16)16 September 1844 Sézanne, France
Died	10 January 1914(1914-01-10) (aged 69) Perugia, Italy
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Beatified	27 September 1992, Rome by Pope John Paul II
Canonized	25 November 2001, Rome by Pope John Paul II
Feast	10 January

Young Léonie Aviat

Saint Léonie Aviat (16 September 1844 in Sézanne, Marne, France – 10 January 1914 in Perugia, Italy) was a Roman Catholic religious sister who co-founded the congregation of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales along with Blessed Father Louis Brisson.

Life

Childhood

Léonie Aviat, was born in Sézanne, on 16 September 1844, to shopkeepers, Theodore Aviat and Emilie Caillot, and was baptized the following day. At the age of 11, she attended the Convent School of the Visitation in Troyes, as a boarder.^[1] While attending school there, she was taught and spiritually guided by the Venerable Mother Marie de Sales Chappuis and Father Louis Brisson.

The Foundation of the Oblate Sisters

Fr Brisson was concerned about all of the young men and women that had moved from the countryside to the city to find work in industrialized factories and textile mills. These young people usually were homeless, therefore, in 1858, he established shelters where he would welcome them so they may learn the truths of their Catholic faith, especially their human dignity, and avoid the moral pitfalls that surrounded their daily lives.

In 1866, Fr Brisson also established three new homes, in which young, working-class girls found a solid home. Together with Léonie, they founded the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, who oversaw the education of these young girls. On 30 October 1868, with one of her former boarding school companions, she received the habit of the new congregation from Bishop Gaspard Mermillod of Geneva. At this time, she received her new name: Sister Françoise de Sales Aviat.^[2] She became the first Superior General of this congregation.

Besides the social apostolate, she established parish schools and a girls' boarding school in Paris. Soon after, the development of her works started to flourish in other European countries, South Africa and Ecuador: Working to make others happy.

Mother Aviat‘s Final Years

The anti-clerical laws and complete secularization of France at the beginning of the 20th Century began with the secularization of the religious houses and exiling of the occupants. In 1904, Mother Aviat, along with her Oblate Sisters, transferred their Motherhouse to Perugia, Italy. In 1911, Pope Pius X approved the constitutions of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales. During this exile, Mother Aviat died on 10 January 1914.

Beatification and Canonization

Mother Aviat was beatified 27 September 1992, by Pope John Paul II, who also canonized her on 25 November 2001.^[3] Liturgically her feast is celebrated on January 10.

Patronage

Saint Léonie Aviat is a patron saint to the people of Southwest Marne, Aube, and Sézanne.

In addition, Mount Aviat Academy in Childs, Maryland was established by the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales in 1960, and named in her honor.^[4]

In Manta, Manabí Province, Ecuador, Unidad Educativa Leonie Aviat was created by the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales by merging two institutions (Santa Esperanza School No. 2 & Frances de Sales Aviat College).