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Marie-Emilie Tavernier was born on February 19,1800, the youngest of 15 children, in the city of Montreal in what is now known as the Province of Quebec, Canada. Nine of her siblings died in childhood, her father died when Emilie was only 4, and her mother died when Emilie was 14. Then, she was raised by an aunt and uncle and their four children.
One of the most notable passions in Emilie’s life was her love for helping the poor. At the age of 18, for example, her brother’s wife died, so her brother asked Emilie to come to help run his household. She agreed on the condition that she could set up a dining room for the poor. There, she fed those in need at what she named, “Table of the King.”
Though Emilie thought of entering the religious life, she got married at the age of 23 to John Baptiste Gamelin, a financially secure apple grower. Like Emilie, he shared her devotion to putting charity into action by serving the poor, and he shared her commitment to his Catholic faith.
Although the couple started out married life in great happiness, it dissolved when their first two children died within months of their births, Mr. Gamelin died, then the third and last child died. From all the losses she experienced, Emilie developed a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title, “Our Lady of Sorrows.”
With her husband and children gone, Emile threw herself into charitable work. Her first charitable target was aiding elderly women who needed care. With her own money, she bought two houses to care for the elderly women. However, in short time, her funds began to run out. Fortunately, however, Emilie had the gift of attracting people with money to help her charities.
As time went on, other women were attracted to Emilie’s work and joined her. Soon, she and the other women were visiting the sick in their homes and caring for children who had been orphaned when their parents died from cholera while coming to Canada and the United States from Ireland. Emilie also cared for men in prison by visiting them daily and bringing them gifts from their families and treats such as food and tobacco.
One of Emilie’s most enduring charities focused on caring for a mentally retarded boy named Dodais. When her husband was still alive, he was once beaten and left unconscious on the side of a road. Dodais cried for help, and because of that, Mr. Gamelin’s life was saved. Mr. Gamelin vowed to care for Dodais, who was unable to do much for himself. After Mr. Gamelin’s death, Emilie took over caring for Dodais until his death at the age of thirty. Because of her experience caring for this young man, Emilie developed a special devotion to assisting others with mental retardation and mental health problems. In time, she established institutions throughout Quebec to care for persons in need.
As time went on, the bishop of Montreal, Ignace Bourget, asked some women religious from France to come to Canada to help carry on Emilie. Though the sisters were unable to come, the bishop decided to start a diocesan order of religious women to help Emilie. Emilie joined seven women on March 30, 1844, and she became the order’s first Superior General of the Sisters of Providence and was known as Mother Gamelin.
In 1847, a devastating famine struck Ireland, and thousands of Irish immigrated to Canada and the United States. Unfortunately, many died at sea, leaving hundreds of children orphaned. Mother Gamelin received 650 of these orphaned children to care for.
In time, Mother Gamelin and her colleague sisters started day and boarding schools, orphanages, institutions for the mentally ill and those with mental retardation. The sisters also continued to serve prisoners and all those whom society considered marginalized.
On September 23, 1851, Mother Gamelin contracted cholera from nursing cholera patients. She died at the age of 51 and was beatified in 2001. Blessed Emilie’s feast day is September 23.
Today, Sisters of Providence serve in nations of Africa, Asia, Central America, North America, South America.
