Fr. Donald Kinney, OCD, is the student master at the Carmelite House of Studies in Mt. Angel, Oregon. This article is translated with permission and provides important information about the sister of Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity.

When the rumor began circulating in Dijon about the possible beatification of Elizabeth of the Trinity, her family and friends thought: "Sister Elizabeth, yes, of course. But her sister Marguerite, even more!" Elizabeth and Guite were both saintly women. Each one's faith was on a high level. Their personalities and gifts were different, and they lived out their faith in different ways. Elizabeth was intense like her eyes, expressive, and even passionate in her love for Jesus. Guite was more discreet, more childlike and tender, but just as profound.

The parents of Elizabeth and Guite were Joseph and Marie. Joseph was a captain in the French Army. He married Marie Roland, daughter of another army captain on Sept. 3, 1879. He was forty-seven; she was thirty-three. Both had experienced traumatic personal losses: Joseph's father had died suddenly of a heart attack at age forty-six when Joseph was eight years old. Marie had been engaged once before. Her fiancée had died in the Prussian war in 1870. It took her years to recover. She became deeply religious and even considered a religious vocation.

The Affectionate Little Sister

Elizabeth (L), age 8, and Guite, age 5, in 1888.

Elizabeth, nicknamed "Sabeth," was born on July 18, 1880, on a military base at Avor (near Bourges). Marguerite, who was called "Guite," was born on Feb. 20, 1883, in Dijon, where her father had been transferred. Marie's father came to live with them. He died in 1887 when Elizabeth was six-and-a-half years old and Guite was four. Eight months later, Elizabeth and Guite's father died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of fifty-five. His death profoundly affected his family. Even as children, the girls had very different personalities: Elizabeth had a strong character and was easily upset, though she learned to control herself after her First Communion. Guite was by nature "sweetness itself," very shy and quiet. But the two girls always got along. Guite said years later, "I remember that from the time she was seven or eight, Elizabeth would leave a game she was playing and enjoying a lot to take care of me when she saw I needed her."

Mme. Catez and her two daughters became so close they called each other "the trio." Music was an important part of their education. Like Elizabeth, Guite went to the Conservatory of Music in Dijon for piano lessons. People said she was more gifted than her older sister. In 1896, when she was thirteen, she won a first prize for excellence. Years later, Guite's daughter Marie said, "Mama was a very good musician. She could play anything. She sight-read and played without seeming to touch the keys. It was extraordinary." She played "as if she were stringing pearls." The two girls spent most of their time practicing the piano. A music teacher and tutor, Mlle. Forey, came to their house; and later they went to hers. But since the girls spent so much of their school time on piano lessons, Elizabeth's grammar and spelling were neglected. The trio was very close. They traveled a lot in France. During their travels, friends would ask the girls to play, often with "four hands." The two were greatly admired. They were always well dressed and very elegant. Three days before Elizabeth entered Carmel, a friend met her in the street as she was going out to buy a pair of kid gloves.

The Loss of Elizabeth

Guite (L) at 19 before Elizabeth entered Carmel in 1901.

Elizabeth entered the Carmel of Dijon on Aug. 1, 1901, at the age of twenty-one. A few days later, Guite wrote to their tutor, Mlle. Forey:

"Dijon, Monday morning, Aug. 5, 1901: My very dear Mademoiselle, You must be very surprised that I haven't yet replied to your nice letter, but if you knew how unhappy I am! Sabeth entered Carmel on Friday morning: The day we've awaited for a long time came, and we made our sacrifice. She didn't want to say goodbye to anyone in order to spare our emotions, but before leaving home, she wrote you this little note I'm enclosing, and you can see you were in her thoughts during her last moments with us. The last time I saw you, my heart was really heavy, for I knew that she would never again come to your little room for lessons. One or two times I really felt like confiding to you what was making me suffer so much: It cost me a lot to hide something from you … I assure you that it's really hard to look happy and to hold in one's emotions in front of everybody, even in front of Mama, for she felt more pain when she saw me suffering. I didn't know where to hide to cry. It was a real agony. As for our last days together, they were awful, the last meal, the last evening … Finally on Saturday [Aug. 1, 1901] at the eight o'clock Mass at the Carmel, we all received Holy Communion. Afterwards, someone came to get us. We went to the enclosure door. She kissed us one last time and the door closed behind her! I thought I would die. I felt something was breaking within me. Well, God held us up, for I was really afraid that Mama couldn't stand that awful moment of separation. Now the two of us are really alone. When we see her empty place at the table, it's all over! And it's that word 'forever' that is the worst. Pray hard for us, dear Mademoiselle, for your little Guiguite. I've often revolted against this and cursed all convents. But I have resigned myself, although I'm broken. I'm no longer myself, and I don't know if I'll ever be again. We are in a very bad state, and all this has really killed us … Well, our consolation is to see her happy. The nuns there are excellent, and they're very nice to us. They let us see her Saturday, Sunday, and we can go back again tomorrow [Tuesday].

"You can see her well through the grill, but it's just not the same. Everybody can visit her during her postulancy. So you can go to see her when you get back [to Dijon]. She'll pray a lot for you and your family. You can be sure of that. She loves you too much to forget you. I assure you that she also suffered in leaving us. She was wasting away from it, and it was better to get it over with. So we saw her. She's thrilled to be there, and she told us that she's even happier than she'd hoped. That was a consolation for our sacrifice. That is really the life for her. The nuns who see her up close now say, 'Her union with God is so great that she would not have been able to live on this earth.' But as for me, when she said those things to me, I didn't understand her. My feet are too much on the ground. But now she has a look on her face that is something from heaven! Mlle. Forey, I'm counting on you, when our classes begin again in the fall, to console me and help me. I really need your love. Think of me. I embrace you sadly, hoping that all is well there. I really wish I were in your place, believe me. Your Guiguite who is no longer as she was, but who loves you as much as ever, if not more."

Winter 2005 Issue Table of Contents Writing the Icon of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel God's Good Timing Praying With Mary Theological Dimension of Chaste Celibate Love: A Carmelite Perspective In Memoriam – Fr. Damian Nolan, OCD Guite – The Sister of Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity Edith Stein & World Youth Day Weaver of Wedding Garments The Promises: The Carmelite Way to Bliss Paul of St. Peter, OCD – Chaplain & Mississippi River Missionary (1746-1826)

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