Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac de Chauvance

After the death of her aunt, Louise renounced her desire to enter the Carmel to devote herself to the realization of an association project conceived by her godmother, aimed at reviving the Christian faith in a society marked by religious indifference and the rise of industrialization. In 1848, she settled in Montluçon, in the Bourbonnais region. Struck by the spiritual and material misery of the working classes in the area, she deployed an intense apostolate: she opened an orphanage, committed herself to the Children of Mary, organized catechism for underprivileged children, and offered spiritual retreats for workers' families. She also founded the "Work of Poor Churches" to help with the furnishing and ornamentation of destitute rural parishes, and established Reparatory Adoration in Montluçon, having a chapel dedicated to the Heart of Jesus built between 1862 and 1864. Concerned about priestly vocations, she created the "Work of the Samuels" to ensure a solid primary and spiritual formation for young boys wishing to enter the minor seminary. The heart of her work lies in the foundation of the Institute of the Oblates of the Heart of Jesus. After attempting for twenty years to affiliate her project with existing congregations (such as the Reparatory Adoration or the Religious of the Sacred Heart), she founded in March 1874, on the advice of the Jesuit father François-Xavier Gautrelet, the "Pious Union of the Oblates of the Sacred Heart." This work was officially approved by Bishop Pierre-Simon de Dreux-Brézé, Bishop of Moulins, on December 21, 1874. The institute is characterized by an innovative structure for the time, uniting women of various walks of life around the same consecration: 1. The Religious Oblates, who live in community and take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. 2. The Secular Oblates, consecrated laywomen who remain in their family and professional environment while taking the same vows. 3. The Affiliated Oblates (and affiliated couples), who live by the spirituality of the institute in the world, without religious vows. In 1875, Louise-Thérèse was appointed Secretary General of the Apostleship of Prayer. Elected Superior General of her institute in 1880, she obtained on October 4, 1881, a decree of praise ("laudatory brief") from Pope Leo XIII. Despite her complete paralysis, which forced her to remain lying on her back, she directed the institute and maintained a monumental spiritual correspondence with the whole world until her death, which occurred on June 27, 1885, in Montluçon.

The cause for canonization of Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac was officially introduced on December 23, 1914, under the pontificate of Pope Benedict XV, conferring upon her the title of Servant of God. The informative and apostolic processes conducted in the Diocese of Moulins were validated by the Congregation of Rites on June 26, 1923. After the presentation of the Positio in 1980, the theological consultants and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the heroic nature of her virtues. On March 28, 1988, Pope John Paul II promulgated the decree recognizing her heroic virtues, thereby declaring her Venerable.

The beatification of Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac was made possible by the recognition of a miracle of unexplained healing that occurred in France. The diocesan inquiry into this miracle was validated on June 26, 1923, and the decree of papal approval of the miracle was signed by Pope John Paul II on March 3, 1990. On November 4, 1990, Pope John Paul II celebrated the beatification mass of Louise-Thérèse de Montaignac de Chauvance in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, solemnly raising her to the honors of the altars in the presence of many faithful and members of her institute. Her liturgical feast is set for June 27, the day of her birth into heaven.

The spirituality of Louise-Thérèse is profoundly Eucharistic and centered on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, envisioned not only as a refuge of personal piety, but as a hearth of active love destined to transform society and promote unity. During her beatification, Pope John Paul II described her as a "woman of the evangelical future" and a "model of a faith deeply lived and active," highlighting her role as a "daughter of the Church and woman in the Church" who knew how to collaborate closely with bishops, priests, and the laity. Today, the Institute of the Oblates of the Heart of Jesus continues its mission throughout the world. Faithful to the intuition of its founder, it gathers religious sisters, consecrated laywomen (secular), and associates (single people and couples) who work in education, catechesis, charitable and social action, and the facilitation of spiritual retreats. The institute is currently present in several countries in Europe, Africa, and Central America.