Marie Estelle Dupont 1847-1917
Sister Saint Jean-Baptiste of the Heart of Jesus did not have a circular; we transcribe here the data concerning it in the book of Foundations.
We had no doubt, as we closed our general retreat with fervor, that death would create a void among us a few days later, with a suddenness that did not fail to make a deep impression on us. But in the Carmel, we are always ready to hear the Coming of the Bridegroom, and filled as we are with so many graces, could we contemplate with terror the supreme moment which will break our bonds of exile?
Our dear Sister Saint John the Baptist of the Heart of Jesus, 70 years old, felt in the middle of October a very painful point in her right side. However, her condition did not present any alarming gravity, and it was rather out of prudence that she was forced to go down to the infirmary on Friday, October 26, 1917. That day again, she had no fever, claimed to feel less oppression and expected to recover soon. At her insistence, the doctor was not called for when, on the night of the 26th to the 27th, suddenly, around 2 o'clock in the morning, she lost consciousness. She only awoke from this deep coma in heaven, without having been able to leave our Mother, who had rushed to her bedside in the morning, a word of farewell, and without anything apparently being able to make us believe that she was aware of his impending end. Father Pitrou came in hastily to give her a last absolution and extreme unction, without the poor dying woman regaining consciousness. The doctor arrived in turn, and could not explain this almost sudden death, which he attributed to a heart attack. Around 11 o'clock in the morning of the 27th, our dear Sister Saint Jean-Baptiste passed away slowly, the whole community being present. Despite the deeply sad character of this death, which no apparent consolation seemed to console, we have the hope that our “little Thérèse” came to the aid of our poor Sister at the supreme hour. We believe it all the better because Sister Jeanne-Marie, particularly impressed by this misfortune, and finding herself on the evening of the 27th near the mortal remains of the deceased, received a grace of choice. She said to our little Saint: “O my little Thérèse, is it possible that you were not there at the time of the death of this poor sister? At the same moment, a very accentuated scent of roses spread through the infirmary, where, however, there were no flowers. This heavenly response was a balm of peace for all of us, after the painful emotions felt.
The burial of Sister Saint Jean-Baptiste took place on Monday morning, October 29, the 3 absolutions given by our Father Superior, Father Cachelou, Dean of Saint Désir and Monseigneur de Teil, passing through Lisieux, on his way to Bayeux, for the closing of the Trial.
While Monsignor Lemonnier presided in his Cathedral, in the presence of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal and of the entire Major Seminary, the solemn closing of the Trial, we holy rejoiced here at the end of these works, which will prepare the approaching glorification of our little Saint, we we have firm confidence in it. However, the recent mourning caused by the death of Sister Saint Jean-Baptiste did not allow us to give this consoling day all the pageantry of joy that we reserved for it. But gratitude shone deep within our souls to praise the Lord for what he has already done for his little wife!
