Mission Director attends beatification of Pontifical Mission Societies founder

CLIFTON  Pauline Marie Jaricot, founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, was beatified last month in her birthplace, Lyon, France, following recognition of a miracle attributed to her intercession. Attending the beatification was Mila Burdeos, diocesan mission director, who joined 120 national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Also attending were 500 priests from around the world, pilgrims worldwide who serve in the missions and many French locals. Founded 200 years ago, the Pontifical Mission Society for the Propagation of the Faith supports the Church’s missionary-related projects. The beatification happened during the 200th anniversary of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith.

For Burdeos, who is a board member of the Pontifical Mission Society, attending a beatification was her first time and she calls this experience unforgettable. “I felt blessed and very excited to be present at the beatification. Without Blessed Pauline Marie Jaricot, there would be no Mission Offices. She was a layperson who has done great things for the Church,” she said.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle presided at the beatification Mass in Lyon’s exhibition hall on May 22, during which a relic of Blessed Pauline’s heart was carried in procession. Cardinal Tagle, the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples, who previously served as the Archbishop of the Philippines, praised Blessed Pauline for her missionary zeal to bring Jesus’ love to more people.

According to the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, based in New York City, in the early 19th century in the aftermath of the French Revolution, Blessed Pauline was inspired by letters from her brother, Phileas, about the missions of her day — the young U.S. Church included. She gathered small groups together — mostly workers in her family’s silk factory — asking each member of the group to offer daily prayer and a weekly sacrifice of a sous (the equivalent of a penny at that time) for the Church’s worldwide missionary work. From Blessed Pauline’s vision came the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, the first of the four Pontifical Mission Societies. The first collection taken up for the Propaga­tion of the Faith in 1822 supported the growth of the young Church in the United States. Today, support from the Propagation of the Faith reaches some 1,100 mission dioceses around the world, in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, and remote regions of Latin America and Europe.

Beginning in the early 20th century, Blessed Pauline Jaricot’s cause was thoroughly investigated. Her canonization process was initiated by Pius XI in 1926; she was declared “Venerable” on Feb. 25, 1963, by St. Pope John XXIII. A miracle through Blessed Pauline’s intercession was added to the file prepared by Msgr. Philippe Curbelié, postulator of Blessed Pauline’s cause. Pope Francis authorized publication of the decree recognizing this miracle attributed to Blessed Pauline’s intercession on May 26, 2020.

During the beatification celebration, Burdeos was able to meet Mayline Tran, who through Blessed Pauline’s intercession was miraculously healed. The miracle occurred in May 2012, when Tran was three years old. She choked while she was eating, lost oxygen to her brain and became comatose being declared brain dead by doctors. Her family did not lose hope and through the efforts of Tran’s school, a large network prayed a novena for the intercession of Pauline Jaricot for Tran’s recovery. Completely recovered, Tran is now 13 years old.

“Her healing proves that prayer works and we should pray every day,” Burdeos said.

Blessed Pauline Jaricot’s holy life, her concern for those in need, and her active response in prayer, dedication, and inspiration through lay movements (like the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the living rosary) to evangelize the world bring her to this beatification stage in her journey to sainthood, according to the Pontifical Mission Societies.

Burdeos admits that she learned about Blessed Pauline just a few years ago and now prays for her intercession daily. She said, “As a layperson serving the Church, she really gives a great example on how a layperson can really magnify the works of God and lead the world. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things.”

The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States have produced a film, Heart of a Missionary: The Story of Pauline Jaricot, about Pauline’s life, which includes discussion of the miracle that led to her beatification. The film can be streamed (in English and Spanish) at BlessedPauline.org, a special website of the TPMS U.S. National Office, which also features more information and resources about Pauline Jaricot.

To learn more about Blessed Pauline Marie Jaricot go to www.blessedpauline.org