St. Emily de Vialar
St. Emily de Vialar, Virgin, Foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph "of the Apparition"
Anne Marguerite Adelaide Emily de Vialar was the eldest child and only daughter of Baron James Augustine de Vialar and his wife Antoinette, daughter of that Baron de Portal who was physician-in-ordinary to Louis XVIII and Charles X of France. She was born at Gaillac in Languedoc in 1797. At the age of fifteen she was removed from school in Paris to be companion to her father, now a widower, at Gaillac; but unhappily, differences arose between them because of Emily's refusal to consider a suitable marriage.
For fifteen years, Emily was the good angel of Gaillac, devoting herself to the care of children neglected by their parents and to the help of the poor generally. In 1832, her maternal grandfather died, leaving her a share of his estate which was a quite considerable fortune. She bought a large house at Gaillac and took possession of it with three companions. Others joined them and three months later, the archbishop authorized the Abbe to clothe twelve postulants with the religious habit. They called themselves the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. Their work was to be the care of the needy, especially the sick, and the education of children. In 1835, she made her profession with seventeen other sisters, and received formal approval for the rule of the Congregation.
The foundress, in the course of twenty-two years, saw her Congregation grow from one to some forty houses, many of which she had founded in person. The physical energy and achievements of St. Emily de Vialar are the more remarkable in that from her youth she was troubled by hernia, contracted characteristically in doing a deed of charity. From 1850 this became more and more serious, and it hastened her end, which came on August 24, 1856. The burden of her last testament to her daughters was "Love one another". Her canonization took place in 1951; her feast is June 17th.
Previous Saint
< St. Emma
Next Saint
St. Emily de Rodat >
Rate This Saint
Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All
Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested
1 - 20 of 65 Comments
Leave a Comment
Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.
Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.
This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.
We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.
We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.
Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample
Previous Saint
< St. Emma
Next Saint
St. Emily de Rodat >
Find Saints
Catholic Online offers the largest searchable database of Catholic Saints on the internet.
| Browse Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
| Patron Saints by Alphabet |
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Videos
St. Francis of Assisi 80,764 views View Video
Padre Pio 49,007 views View Video
Black Saints Vol I 31,793 views View Video
Black Saints Vol II 28,047 views View Video
Most Popular
No-one Can Change the Truth About Fatherhood. Love Your Father. Be a Good Father Read More
Fall of the Wall of Silence: More on Pope Francis and Reports of a 'Gay Lobby' in the Roman Curia Read More
Courageous Cardinal George of Chicago Defends Marriage, Calls for Public Conversion Read More
Pope Francis Refers to 'gay lobby' inside Vatican Read More
Why Catholics Have Failed Our Culture: The Bottom Line Read More
Daily Readings
Reading 1, Second Corinthians 9:6-11
But remember: anyone who sows sparsely will reap sparsely as ... Read More
Psalm, Psalms 112:1-2, 3-4, 9
Alleluia! How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh, who delights ... Read More
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
'Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract ... Read More
Saint of the Day
St. Romuald
June 19: St. Romuald was born at Ravenna about the year 956. In spite ... Read More
Latest Videos
Vatican Museum, Rome - Ceiling and Wall Artwork View Video
Flooding prevents pilgrims from reaching Catholic shrine View Video
Credo Series - Episode 7 View Video
Credo Series - Episode 8 View Video
About 200 people evacuated from the Lourdes Shrine, as floods hit Southern France View Video
Marketplace
The New American Bible Revised Edition: Compact Edition Read More
St. Theresa Patron Saint of Missions Medal on 18 inch sterling silver chain Read More




















St. Emily de Vialer, kindly intercede for me and my family members to be in union with God and the church in all our thoughts and actions.
Dear Saint,
Please pray for Pope Francis and France. Let the land which produced so many saints turn back to her faith and depart from her evil ways of promoting gay marriage, abortion etc. Let her past glories of producing saints return to her. Let Europe, which became prosperous under Christian faith, realize her arrogance which is taking her closer to extinction, repent and return to the mercy of our Lord. The land once was rich with faith is now getting rotten with heresy. Enlighten her leaders that they may foresee their destruction towards which they are moving, seek the blessings of our Lord and his forgiveness. Strengthen the Pope to send zealous missionaries to preach the gospel to Europe and sow the seed of faith for the coming generation in order to lead their souls to the Kingdom of God. Graciously Grant peace to my in-laws and my wife and children. Amen.
St.Emily de Vialar I pray 2 you and all the saints I pray for your blessing in my work
I ask you 2 pray for my family and friends everywere
God Bless us all
Amen
Dear St. Emily,
Happy Feast Day and thank you for all that you have done for the Catholic Church and I am very proud of you.
Today, right now is also the funeral of my cousin Jennifer. She was a very helpful and selfless person. Please pray for her that she is happily rejoicing her meeting with God in Heaven now.
Please pray for her. Amen.
St. Emily help my dad who is recovering from Hernia operation. Pray for him. Thank you. I give God the glory for you.
She is an amaizing saint and Emily is deffinently my confirmation name! :)
This site is my favorite. I was educated by Sisters of St. Joseph in Michigan in the 60's, and am thankful everyday for their good example. They truly were a group of educated, liberated women. I've often said, they were truly the first women's libbers, they just went about their fine work and education quietly. I did not know about their origins until now. Glad to read more about them.
Please Saint Emily de Vialar, please pray for Jacob that he finds the right path and for his parents that they find the strenght and wisdom to guide him, Thank you.
Thanks for your intercession, St. Emily; I am now fully recovered from hernia after the second operation and am physically well and fit. Please continue to pray for us.
Her congregation was "Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition." Okay, what was the appariton to which this names refers?
I find this site an inspiration and very informative, please keep up the good work.
Thank you for giving me more information on our Saints.
woou my name is emily am a sister. st emily pray for me.i never knew that iwas also a st thank you.
Dear St Emily,
I have grown spiritually due to your intercession. May your prayers help me in my studies completion Jan 2012 reg no. 205022181 Makerere University, and all my hearts desires....Amen
i love this website
I think this site is very helpful for when I do my school work. THANK YOU
dear st Emily i adore you are just like me want to help the sick and the poor just like you im glade my teacher pick you as my saint for a project.
Dear St. Emily reading your biography helped me a lot. I have to write a paragraph about you for my confirmation and I hope that when the day of my confirmation comes I hope you are there with me giving me the blessing of confirmation. Also when the day of my 15 comes help my parents realize that the only thing I want for my 15 is their love and support throughout my life. Also give me the strength, and brains so that i can finish high school and enter the world of college. Im not a very religious person but this article made me realize that even though you had hernia you still worked and worked and worked and dealed with it. And also please bless my family and friends that I love very much, and also my puppy Coco.
Dear St.Emily, please pray for me everyday. My daughter is suffering from thyroid cancer, please pray for her too. Thank you very much
Dear St. Emily, Please intercede for me, because I am sufferring from the same disease that you had! I had been operated once, but it has recurred. Pleas pray for me for the next surgery, to be carried out shortly.
There is a St. Joseph's hospital near my home, and right next to it is the convent where the Sisters of St. Joseph live. I live next door to Holy Family Cathedral and School, so the Sisters are a familiar, lovely and welcome sight in the neighborhood. Our block is truly blessed!