17 Facts About Leonie Aviat

Leonie Aviat, her religious name Francoise de Sales, was a Roman Catholic professed religious and the co-founder along with Louis Brisson of the Oblate Sisters of St Francis de Sales.

Leonie Aviat was canonized on the 25th of November in 2001.

Leonie Aviat was born in Sezanne on 16 September 1844 to shopkeepers Theodore Aviat and Emilie Caillot; she was baptized on 17 September in the local parish church.

Leonie Aviat received both her First Communion and her Confirmation from Bishop of Troyes, Pierre-Louis Coeur, on 2 July 1856.

Leonie Aviat approached both Brisson and Chappuis who advised her to wait.

Leonie Aviat consulted with Aviat, hoping that she would aid him in this endeavor.

Leonie Aviat began her path to the religious life on 11 April 1866, together with her friend Lucie Caneut, a former boarding school companion.

Leonie Aviat went on to establish parish schools and a female boarding school in Paris, along with guiding the workers, keeping them employed during the Franco-Prussian War, and aiding Alsacian immigrants following the war's end.

Leonie Aviat made the profession of her vows on 11 October 1871 to Monsignor de Segur.

Leonie Aviat became the first Superior General of this congregation and served two terms in office, the first being from 20 September 1872 until 8 October 1879, when she gladly stepped down.

Leonie Aviat did not complain nor mention it and offered her interior suffering to God.

On 15 September 1884 her old friend Jeanne-Marie was appointed as Superior General and her attitude towards Leonie Aviat was, surprisingly, rather unpleasant.

Leonie Aviat turned to find she was alone in her room, and the next morning she was re-elected as Superior General, She understood this as a sign that Jesus Christ wanted to govern the order through her.

Leonie Aviat rushed to his bedside, and the priest died a fortnight later.

Leonie Aviat attended the funeral though not in her religious habit so as not to draw attention to herself.

Leonie Aviat is a patron saint of Southwest Marne in addition to Aube and Sezanne; she is a co-patron of the order that she had established.

In Manta in Ecuador the Unidad Educativa Leonie Aviat was created after the order merged the two institutions Santa Esperanza School No 2 and the Frances de Sales Aviat College.