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Holy Women's History Month: Servant of God Elisabeth LeSeur

By: Leigh Ann Roman March 13th, 2025

I first met Elisabeth Leseur on the pages of the Catholic monthly publication Magnificat, which published one of her writings as a daily meditation. When I learned about The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, I knew I had to buy it. As a lifelong journal-keeper, I felt an immediate kinship with her. The more I learned about Elisabeth, the more humbled I was by her life. This upper-class Frenchwoman who died at 48 from cancer counted among her sufferings the atheism of her beloved husband, Felix. Although she grew in holiness and piety during their marriage, she maintained a gracious quiet about her convictions when interacting with her husband or his like-minded friends. She kept her own counsel and wrote in her private journal about her developing faith life — a life she could not share with the one she loved the most. Her spiritual isolation brought great suffering, which she offered for her husband. When Felix discovered the journals after her death, he was moved to revisit the Catholic faith he had abandoned so many years before. He returned to the Church and later became a priest. He also published her beautiful writings and reflections on faith. By 1930, the book had sold 100,000 copies and had been translated into every major European language. Prefer to Listen—Audio version available!