19 Facts About Henriette DeLille

Henriette DeLille founded the Sisters of the Holy Family in 1836 and served as their first Mother Superior.

Henriette DeLille was of mixed race: her father was a white man from France, her mother was a quadroon, and her maternal grandfather was a white man from Spain.

Henriette DeLille was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 11,1813.

Henriette DeLille's mother, Marie-Josephe "Pouponne" Diaz, was a free woman of color of New Orleans.

Henriette DeLille had a brother, Jean DeLille, and other siblings.

Henriette DeLille's maternal great-grandmother is said to be Cecile Marthe Basile Dubreuil, a woman of color considered to be a daughter of Claude Villars Dubreuil, born in 1716, who immigrated to Louisiana from France.

Henriette DeLille's mother taught her nursing skills and how to prepare medicines from herbs.

Henriette DeLille became an outspoken opponent of placage, in which generally young, white French or American men had extended relationships or common-law marriages with free women of color.

Henriette DeLille believed the system was a violation of the Catholic sacrament of marriage.

Henriette DeLille was influenced by Sister Marthe Fontier, who had opened a school in New Orleans for girls of color.

In 1827, at the age of 14, the well-educated Henriette DeLille began teaching at the local Catholic school.

Henriette DeLille felt that his sister's activities within the Creole community could expose his partial African ancestry to his white associates.

Henriette DeLille faced opposition from the public and from many in the church, as at the time racism ruled the day and Black women were not seen as worthy of religious life.

Henriette DeLille had not been able to join an existing congregation due to these prejudices, and when she formed her own congregation, they were not allowed by Bishop Antoine Blanc to wear a habit.

Henriette DeLille took the position of superior general in the congregation.

Henriette DeLille was the second African-American to ever serve in such a position, after Mary Lange of the Oblate Sisters of Providence.

Henriette DeLille died on Sunday, November 16,1862, at the age of 49, during the American Civil War, when the city was occupied by Union troops.

In 1988, her congregation opened the cause for her beatification with the Holy See and Henriette DeLille was given the title of Servant of God by the pope.

Henriette DeLille's cause was endorsed "unanimously" in 1997 by the United States Catholic bishops.