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France 3: "They renounced pomp to help the poor: will the "charitable spouses" Claude and Marguerite de La Garaye be canonized?"
This Sunday, September 22, 2024, the Bishop of Saint-Brieuc will preside over a solemn ceremony in the church of Saint-Malo in Dinan (Côtes-d'Armor) to launch the canonization investigation of the La Garaye couple. In the 18th century, these "charitable spouses" gave up a life of balls and hunting to devote themselves to the poor and the sick.
They lived a life of luxury, splendor and voluptuousness. All the fairies seemed to have bent over the cradles of Claude and Marguerite de La Garaye. They were young, beautiful and blessed with considerable wealth.
The drama
Born on October 27, 1675 in Rennes, Claude Toussaint Marot de La Garaye was a musketeer to the King. His wife, Marguerite Piquet de La Motte, was born in Vannes on December 24, 1681. At their château in Taden (Côtes-d'Armor), just outside Dinan, balls and parties followed one another, and hunting parties were held every morning.
A year after their union, however, one day in 1703, the Comtesse de La Garaye suffered a terrible fall from her horse. The child she was carrying did not survive, and she remained between life and death for a long time.
A few months later, after another bereavement, the young couple began to search for another meaning to their lives.
Life change
They gathered their staff and announced that from now on they would be caring for the poor and the sick.
"My intention is to renounce the world altogether, cut off all my train, sell my furniture, my crew, my crockery, make a hospital of my house, feed, groom, treat and serve the poor there, and use all my income for their relief." Claude de La Garaye, 18th-century nobleman from Costarmor.
As soon as they arrived the next morning, the servants found them hard at work: sweeping the room, fetching water from the well, preparing meals for the most needy.
No more balls, no more dinners. They sell dogs and horses, dresses and jewelry, and set up forty beds in the château to accommodate the first patients. An apothecary and a chapel were built next to the sick room. The husband and wife team treated, dressed and operated. They left to train in surgery and ophthalmology in Paris.
In 1715, Marguerite de La Garaye became France's first female ophthalmologist, performing cataract surgery. Claude, for his part, continued his studies in botany and chemistry to produce his own medicines.
Their table sometimes welcomed up to 300 guests. And to keep their guests healthy and well-fed, the La Garaye family set up factories and a saltworks.
"The charitable spouses
From 1710 to 1757, they devoted themselves entirely to others. Their story lives on in people's minds, and has earned them a new title, not of nobility, but of recognition: Charitable Husbands.
In 1996, during his visit to Sainte-Anne d'Auray (Morbihan), Pope John Paul II paid tribute to the couple:"In this way, you preserve the exemplary memory of the charitable spouses Claude and Marguerite de La Garaye."
They put their lives at the service of those most in need. Were they saints or the first humanitarians? The Church will decide. By opening this canonization inquiry, it wishes to honor their memory and their dedication.
Read the article on www.france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr
By Séverine Breton
Published September 21, 2024
