Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit: life, miracles, prophecies, prayers
Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit was a woman with an exceptional destiny. A very devout child, devoted to the poor from a very young age, she decided to follow Christ unwaveringly. She was totally devoted to Him, seeking to live abandonment to His Divine Will. She would become a dynamic religious sister, carrying out large-scale projects: the construction of a clinic. Courageous, she did not hesitate to take in members of the Resistance and parachutists during the war. Imprisoned by the Gestapo, she was miraculously freed by her angel and was eventually decorated by General de Gaulle. In parallel with this active, energetic life, mystical phenomena abounded: bilocations, prophecies, etc. She died at only 49 as she was preparing to visit her religious sisters in Africa.
Biography of Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
Yvonne Beauvais was born on July 16, 1901, in Cossé-en-Champagne near Laval. She was entrusted to her grandparents, who nurtured in her the faith and love of the Eucharist. As a very small child, she often repeated to Jesus: “Little Jesus, come out of your tabernacle and come into my heart.” In 1910, she made her first communion, and would later say: “After receiving Jesus-Host, my happiness was so great that [...] I did not know what to say to the guest of my heart: I love you with all my strength, my whole soul. I belong entirely to you. And I felt that He took me completely.” A few days later, Yvonne committed herself to Jesus by a “pact,” written in her blood: “O my little Jesus, I give myself to You entirely and forever… I will live only for You… I beg You to make me a saint, a very great saint, a martyr… I want to save many souls… I want to belong to You alone, but above all I want Your Will. Your little Yvonne. January 1, 1910.” After her studies, Yvonne devoted herself to the poor, for whom she had had much love and dedication since childhood. She did whatever tasks arose to provide for their needs: general maid, cook, novelist, holy-card painter, concert musician, etc. She confided to Jesus why she did all this: “It’s for you, since the poor are you, Jesus. You consecrated the poor as you consecrated the host.” On March 18, 1922, Yvonne came to Malestroit (Morbihan) for a period of convalescence. She felt that Jesus was calling her to leave everything, including giving up the fiancé she had chosen, in order to remain wholly His at Malestroit. From then on, supernatural events manifested in Yvonne’s life: ecstasies, stigmata, bilocations, etc. She also faced multiple trials: illnesses, attacks from the devil, moral sufferings, etc.
On March 18, 1927, Yvonne embraced her vocation to religious life: she entered the convent of the Augustinian Sisters of Mercy of Malestroit and took the name Sister Yvonne-Aimée of Jesus. From then on, she had new responsibilities: she worked on the construction of a modern clinic, then served as its cook. Sister Yvonne-Aimée was later appointed mistress of novices. In 1935, she became the superior of the convent, then was elected president of the Order’s Council. In 1938, she visited the missionary sisters in South Africa.
During the Second World War, Mother Yvonne-Aimée showed great courage and composure; she clandestinely sheltered at the clinic the head of the Resistance in the West, General Audibert, as well as parachutists of various nationalities and wounded resistance fighters. She received six medals of national recognition, including the Légion d’Honneur. A severe moral trial, which the Lord had announced to her 20 years earlier in a premonitory dream, fell upon her in the same period. “You will be accused of lying by those who will have believed in you. One of them, a religious (...) will make you out to be a false mystic, a creature of sin. The time of calamity during which this trial happens to you will greatly help to save the world.” (July 6, 1923). In 1946, the first federation of women’s monasteries was founded with Rome’s approval. Mother Yvonne-Aimée was elected Superior General. She would spend the last years of her life attending to her many responsibilities, although her health was very precarious. She kept her dynamism and effectiveness, moving easily from states of ecstasy to her practical daily duties while enduring sufferings. Her life was a continual abandonment to the Divine Will. Thus the Lord came to take her on February 3, 1951, at the age of 49.
Beatification of Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
Since her death, the reputation for holiness of Mother Yvonne-Aimée has only grown and spread throughout the world. Pilgrims of all origins come to Malestroit to invoke her at her tomb, and many graces are obtained. The dossier for beatification is currently under review in Rome.
Miracles of Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
Several episodes of bilocation
On February 16, 1943, Sister Yvonne-Aimée was arrested by the Gestapo in Paris and locked up in the Cherche-Midi prison. Father Paul Labutte was secretly alerted to Mother Yvonne-Aimée’s arrest by Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer (director of the small convent of the Augustinian Sisters in Paris where Sister Yvonne-Aimée was staying during her visit). The priest therefore went to Paris and, getting on the metro, was surprised to meet Sister Yvonne-Aimée herself there, in civilian clothes. Happy to see her free, he asked how it had happened; the nun replied in a whisper: “No, I am not free. I am in prison. I am being tortured. I am in front of a wall and my head is in a sort of vise.” Father Labutte immediately understood that she was in a state of “bilocation.” He touched her to be sure of her real presence, then saw her go off into the crowd and disappear as if she were dematerializing. Overwhelmed by this encounter, Father Labutte continued his journey, got off at another station, and there found Sister Yvonne-Aimée again, still in the same outfit. This time she said, looking frightened: “Pray, pray. If you don’t pray enough, they will put me on a transport to Germany tonight.”
Miraculous release from prison by an angel
That very evening, Father Labutte went to the Augustinian convent, where he recounted his encounters with Sister Yvonne-Aimée to Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer. Around 9:10 p.m., he was resting in his room when he heard a loud, clear noise like someone jumping on the floorboards. He rushed into the next room to see what was happening and came face-to-face with Sister Yvonne-Aimée, still wearing the same civilian clothing. She was in a panic and did not understand where she was. Eventually she calmed down and ended up recognizing Father Labutte, who asked her what had happened and how she had come in despite the closed doors. She replied: “My angel delivered me and brought me back here. He seized me in the prison courtyard just as we were being formed up to depart for Germany. He took advantage of the disorder that broke out at the time of the muster.” The priest ran to fetch Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer, who spent the night praying in the chapel. Together they hurried back and found her lying peacefully on her bed. The floor of the room was strewn with fresh flowers: calla lilies, tulips, and white lilacs. Two gardeners would not have sufficed to bring in such a quantity of flowers.
Prophecies of Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
Visions of the Second World War
In 1922, while Yvonne was convalescing in Malestroit, she had visions she did not understand: “a terrible day since, as if at high noon, darkness covers the earth and spirals of smoke seem to rise toward the sky, a bit like curls coming from a censer, without any censer being lit.”
She also saw soldiers arriving, bustling about, running, getting into trucks and getting out of them. She specified that they wore green: “These uniforms are not those of our soldiers.” She also saw “planes dropping big cylinders on cities and starting large fires.” Yvonne reported these precise visions to the priest of the clinic who, though skeptical, advised her: “Everything you see, write it down. We’ll see. Sometimes we get the explanation of things later when they come to pass.”
Visions of her future decorations
Another time, Yvonne saw herself dressed as a nun, wearing a black veil. She saw “a tall general decorating her, and she is honored for all sorts of actions she did during this war.” This vision came to pass in July 1945, when General de Gaulle himself decorated her with the Légion d’Honneur.
Prayers of Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
Invocation entrusted by Jesus
On August 28, 1922, Jesus entrusted this invocation to Yvonne-Aimée: “O Jesus, King of Love, I trust in your merciful goodness.” Later, she illustrated this short prayer with a now-famous drawing representing the Child Jesus showing His Sacred Heart.
Prayer to “Live to the full the life of abandonment”
“God asks of us great docility of mind, true humility, a great desire to love Him and to make Him loved, a simple and pure heart. In return, He gives us His Love, the gift of souls, His Purity. To that end, live to the full the life of abandonment which will develop in us true Union: the loss of our will in the Divine Will. The life of abandonment facilitates the sanctification of the present moment, lets fall, as they arise, the rebellions of nature, turning back on oneself—on the past, worries for the future, complaints, reasonings, sadness, jealousies, envies, etc. The life of abandonment facilitates perfect renunciation, which gives Peace, joy—an unalterable serenity—, facilitates self-forgetfulness, prevents analyzing oneself and philosophizing about the events of our life. Everything He gives me, I give back to souls. Everything souls give me, I give back to Him. I am rich because I keep nothing for myself. The life of abandonment develops Faith, Hope, Charity, Fervor. One gets into the habit of thinking, acting, suffering under the influence of Truth. Amen.”
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Learn more about Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit
A film retraces the story of her exceptional life: Les Noces du Ciel et de la Terre (The Wedding of Heaven and Earth), directed by Laurent Desprez.
The book Spiritual Writings, by Father René Laurentin, presents selected excerpts from the writings of Mother Yvonne-Aimée of Malestroit in chronological order.
