Madelaine Hermance Pichery 1834-1898
Childhood and youth
Madelaine Hermance Pichery was born on February 12, 1834 at six o'clock in the morning. Her father, Pierre Pichery, husband of Rose Jacquette, was a merchant in Honfleur, rue des Capucins, very close to the Sainte-Catherine church. A second daughter came soon after to enrich this well-regarded household. Both received a careful education and, it is said, studied quite brilliantly for the time. Hermance worked as a teacher for a few years before entering the Carmel of Lisieux.
Entrance to the Carmel of Lisieux
She was twenty-four when she entered the door of Carmel on May 14, 1858. The Prioress, Mother Beloved of Jesus, "then fulfilled the promise she had made to Our Lord to give the first postulant the name of her Divine Heart, thus she named her Sister Heart of Jesus of Mount Carmel” (cf. Book of Foundations III). In a few years, being in Coutances, she will sign “Sister Heart of Jesus of the Immaculate” and on her return to Lisieux we find ourselves in General Correspondence II, p. 764, that she added the name of Saint Joseph.
She took the habit on November 24, 1858. It was the superior of the Carmel, M. Cagniard who presided over the ceremony and gave the sermon. A lady from Paris “offered the sum that the community demanded of postulants admitted to the Taking of the Habit”, and this because of Madame Pichery's dissatisfaction at seeing her daughter enter Carmel. Not only did the preacher utter a few vehement words, but he had them printed. He justifies himself: “Why then, at this moment, do I have the desire to publish this apology for the Order of Carmel? It is because, in society, on the occasion of the entry into religion of Mlle Deschamps and Mlle Pichery, such strange things were said about the Carmelite convent, such ridiculous declamations were , that it seemed good to me to respond to these ridiculous assertions, which are not in conformity with the teachings of the faith. At the same time, in this apology for the life of Carmel, he defended the young girl who was accused of ingratitude towards her mother. Sister Coeur de Jesus made profession on December 2, 1859 and took the veil two days later during a ceremony still presided over by Mr. Cagniard. On the day of her profession, she asked in her prayer for the grace to follow the Rule entirely for fifteen years. "How I regret, she would say later, that I did not extend my request for all my life!" Be that as it may, her prayer was answered to the letter: the 15 years expired, she fell into a sort of most painful anemia (for herself and for others) that she had to bear until her death.
For a few months, from February to July 1866, she served as mistress of novices. But on July 10, following an urgent request from Mgr Bravard, bishop of Coutances, she left to found a new Carmel in this city.
At the Carmel of Coutances
Bishop Bravard ardently desired, in fact, that a Carmel be established in his episcopal city. Now, at that time, Miss Marie Dupont d'Aisy, belonging to one of the most prominent Christian families in the city, had entered the Carmel of Lisieux. The bishop thought to himself that this young nun could be one of the pillars of the foundation he dreamed of. But the Carmel of Lisieux remained perplexed. Admittedly, he had enough recruits to be able to spread out, but the material means were sorely lacking. Mrs. Dupont d'Aisy made use of her connections and soon a sufficient sum was collected, making it possible to envisage the installation of the projected monastery. On July 10, 1866, M. Cagniard signed the official act: "...we name Prioress of this new monastery Mother Marie Aimée of Jesus, Sub-Prioress Mother Heart of Jesus..." A great ordeal was about to strike this foundation since on December 17, 1867, Mother Aimee of Jesus died at the age of 49. Mother Heart of Jesus was named interim Prioress. The succession came from the Carmel of Poitiers which, in December 1869, sent three of its sisters to him, including Mother Émilie de Saint-Ange as Prioress. It also seems that Mother Heart of Jesus encountered many difficulties during her Priorat. She remained in Coutances until July 1882, when she returned to the Carmel of Lisieux.
Back to Lisieux
His health was already badly shaken; in the grip of neurasthenia, she had to make the duty of the nurses sometimes painful. Among these Sister Geneviève who tried to avoid passing in front of the patient's window! It seems, however, that illness alone was responsible for these "thousand oddities", for the obituary circular shows a Mother Hermance of the Heart of Jesus "of a charity pushed to the point of the most exquisite delicacy", speaking "very kindly, with this fine and delicate spirit that characterized her. Father Godefroid Madelaine wrote to Mother Marie de Gonzague evoking Mother Heart of Jesus: “Through [she] shone an excellent heart and a very fine intelligence. God will have mercy on him, hopefully. She suffered a lot: without a doubt, it was her anticipated purgatory. »
The attendance sheet of the Carmelites of Lisieux evokes (CG II, pp. 1 172-1 173) Mother Heart of Jesus, "religiously abandoned at the good pleasure of her divine Spouse on the altar of the Cross where an incessant state of suffering and weakness, leaving her always peaceful and smiling. Perfect model of the religious spirit, friendliness and goodness personified”. The dictionary of proper names (CG II, p. 1203) summarizes, with less charitable enthusiasm: “suffers until his death from a chronic cerebral anemia which tests the patience of the nurses. She showed great esteem for Thérèse. »
With Therese
Mother Coeur de Jesus already knew Thérèse before she entered the Carmel in 1888 and despite her handicap which did not attenuate the delicacy of her intelligence she admired her very much, we have some testimonies. The first relates to the devotion, uncommon in the Carmel of that time, of Thérèse for Saint John of the Cross. The sisters were surprised who were much more attached to their Mother Saint Thérèse. Mother Coeur de Jesus confided to Mother Agnès: “Is it possible that a child of 17 understands these things and talks about them in such a way! It's wonderful, I can't believe it! »
Sister Geneviève in her deposition at the Apostolic Process bears witness to the same effect: "Mother Hermance of the Heart of Jesus had great esteem for her and during Sister Thérèse's illness, as I approached her at all times in my capacity as a nurse, she constantly gave me her oral commissions where I could judge of the high opinion she had of her virtue. We will perhaps better understand this attachment of the sister when we hear Sister Geneviève declare: “Her preferences were for the less sympathetic sisters; I always saw her place herself next to her in recreation (...). A nervous patient, moreover educated and intelligent, had a thousand quirks which were the bugbear of nurses. It was about her that Thérèse said to me: “The job of nurse is the one that I would like best; I wouldn't want to ask for it, I'd be afraid it would be presumption, but if they gave it to me I'd think I was very privileged. » And speaking of Mother Heart of Jesus to Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart, Thérèse confides: « How happy I would have been to be her nurse. It might have cost me according to nature, but it seems to me that I would have cared for her with so much love, because I think of what Our Lord said: "I was sick and you relieved. »
It was with Mother Heart of Jesus that the well-known episode in Thérèse's life happened. This one had pleasure to deposit in front of the statue of the Child Jesus of the cloister of the fragrant flowers. But Mother Heart of Jesus was bothered by perfumes. The latter, having seen her place a beautiful rose at the foot of the statue, called her with the obvious intention of making her remove it. "At that moment," said Therese, guessing her mistake, "I felt a strong desire to make her realize her mistake; because the rose was artificial. But Jesus had asked me to sacrifice this little triumph. Anticipating all thought, I took the flower and said to her: “Look, my Mother, how well we imitate nature, today wouldn't we say that this flower has just been picked in the garden? You cannot imagine, she added, how sweet this act of charity was to me and how much strength it gave me. »
During Thérèse's last illness, the life of Saint Louis de Gonzague was being read in the refectory. Mother Coeur de Jesus was struck by the friendship which united the young saint to an elderly father of his community, Father Corbinelli: "It is you little Louis, she said to Therese, and I am old Father Corbinelli; when you are in heaven, remember me!”
“Would you like, Mother, for me to come and fetch you soon?
'No, not yet, I haven't suffered enough.
— O my Mother, I tell you that you have suffered quite enough! ... »
And Mother Coeur de Jesus, like a good Carmelite, replied: “I still don't dare to say yes to you... For such a serious thing, we need the sanction of authority. » The Prioress saw only a joke in these remarks which the nun had taken very seriously and gave an affirmative answer. Now, in the last days of Thérèse's earthly life, Mother Coeur de Jesus sent her a bouquet of flowers through the nurse and Thérèse had her say in thanks: "Tell Mother Coeur de Jesus that this morning, during mass , I saw the tomb of Father Corbinelli very close to that of little Louis”. "That's good, replied the old one, tell Sister Thérèse that I have understood!"
After Teresa's death
From that moment, Mother Hermance of the Heart of Jesus remained convinced of his approaching death. On October 17, 1898 she was seized with a cold which degenerated into bronchitis, she never ceased to recall Thérèse's prophecy and did not seem to fear death.
Despite a slight improvement in her condition, she died on the night of October 30, a year after her young sister whom she admired and loved so much, without knowing the anguish of the last moments, but very peacefully and to the astonishment of all the sisters and the doctor who did not foresee such a quick outcome.
His obituary concludes: “Such long years of suffering borne with love, are they not a veritable purgatory? »
P. Gires
