Aimée-Adèle Le Bouteiller

On March 19, 1841, at the age of twenty-five, Aimée-Adèle entered the novitiate of the Abbey of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, the motherhouse of the congregation. She was welcomed there by the foundress herself, Saint Marie-Madeleine Postel, then eighty-four years old. Her novice mistress was Blessed Placide Viel, who would later become the superior general of the institute. On September 14, 1842, she received the religious habit and took the name Sister Marthe. During her novitiate, in the winter of 1842-1843, Sister Marthe was sent to the house of La Chapelle-sur-Vire to assist with material tasks. One day, while rinsing sheets in the icy waters of the Marquerand river, a sheet slipped from her grasp. In attempting to retrieve it, she slipped and fell into the frozen water, which caused paralysis of her knees. Fearing she would be dismissed from the community due to her infirmity, she returned to the abbey. Mother Marie-Madeleine Postel welcomed her with great kindness, comforted her, and prayed for her by laying hands upon her. A few weeks later, Sister Marthe miraculously regained the use of her legs, an event that sealed an unbreakable spiritual bond between the two women. Sister Marthe pronounced her first vows on September 7, 1843. Although she had for a time desired to become a teacher, her superiors entrusted her with the office of cellarer and bursar of the abbey, a role she would exercise for nearly forty years. Her mission consisted of managing the kitchen, the cellar, the vegetable garden, and feeding a community that then numbered about 150 people, not to mention the workers and passing guests. She distinguished herself by her skill in making excellent cider, which earned her the affectionate nickname of "Sister Cider." During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the abbey welcomed many soldiers. Sister Marthe spent herself without counting the cost to meet their material and spiritual needs, distributing food and cider to sometimes more than 500 people per day. Faced with the exhaustion of reserves, she prayed fervently before an image of the deceased foundress, and the abbey's provisions seemed to be replenished in an inexplicable manner. In the winter of 1875-1876, Sister Marthe, then sixty years old, had a fall and fractured her leg. This trial, followed by the death of her mother and confidante, Mother Placide Viel, in 1877, darkened her final years. Despite declining health and the obligation to use a cane, she maintained her joy and devotion in the service of the community. On March 18, 1883, the day of Palm Sunday, after having cleared the dinner table, she suffered a cerebral congestion and passed away peacefully that same evening at the age of 66.

The reputation for holiness of Sister Marthe, characterized by her joyful charity and deep humility, spread rapidly after her death. Her cause for beatification was officially introduced in Rome in 1933 (the diocesan informative process having begun at that time). The formal apostolic process opened on February 1, 1948, conferring upon her the title of Servant of God. On September 24, 1983, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues, thus proclaiming her Venerable. Subsequently, a scientifically inexplicable healing, attributed to her intercession, was the subject of a rigorous canonical investigation. This miracle was officially recognized by a decree of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on December 21, 1989, paving the way for her beatification.

Sister Marthe Le Bouteiller was solemnly beatified on November 4, 1990, by Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. During his homily, the Holy Father highlighted the spiritual greatness of this humble religious: "Sister Marthe, a true sister of Mercy, radiated the love of God around her. The great simplicity of her life did not prevent the other sisters from recognizing her true spiritual authority." He also recalled that she knew how to lead a life of intimate union with Christ by "doing small things in a great way," according to a maxim dear to her congregation. Her relics are today preserved and venerated in the abbey church of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, resting alongside those of the foundress Saint Marie-Madeleine Postel and Blessed Placide Viel. Her liturgical feast is set for March 18, the day of her birth into heaven (dies natalis). She is also celebrated on November 4 within her religious family.

The spirituality of Blessed Marthe Le Bouteiller rests on self-effacement, joyful obedience, and the sanctification of daily work. She embodied in an exemplary manner the maxim of Saint Marie-Madeleine Postel: 'Let us do as much good as possible while hiding ourselves as much as possible.' Dedicated to the most ordinary and sometimes the most thankless tasks of community life, she knew how to transform manual labor into a continual prayer, nourished by the reading of authors from the great tradition of the French School of spirituality. Her legacy remains alive within the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Marie-Madeleine Postel, who continue to draw inspiration from her example of discreet charity, absolute trust in Providence, and humble service to the poorest.