Friedrich Bernard Christian Maassen
United Sees of Macerata and Tolentino
Vicariate Apostolic of Mackenzie
Marie-Edmé-Patrice-Maurice de MacMahon
Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyria de Mailla
François-Pierre-Gonthier Maine de Biran
Françoise, Marquise de Maintenon
Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre
Marcellinus of Civezza, O.F.M.
Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament
Prefecture Apostolic of Mariana Islands
Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill
Sts. Maris, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
Lucius Perpetuus Aurelianus Marius Maximus
Vicariate Apostolic of Marquesas Islands
Moral and Canonical Aspect of Marriage
Diocese of Marseilles (Massilia)
Vicariate Apostolic of the Marshall Islands
Diocese of Marsico Nuovo and Potenza
Luigi Ferdinando, Count de Marsigli
Missionaries of the Company of Mary
Servants of Mary (Order of Servites)
Society of Mary (Marist Fathers)
St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus
Richard Angelus a S. Francisco Mason
Devises and Bequests for Masses (United States)
Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus
Caius Julius Verus Maximinus Thrax
Prefecture Apostolic of Mayotte, Nossi-Bé, and Comoro
Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod
Abbey and Congregation of Melk
Vicariate Apostolic of Méndez and Gualaquiza
Francisco Sarmiento de Mendoza
Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy of St. Borromeo
Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode
Delegation Apostolic of Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, and Armenia
Metal-Work in the Service of the Church
Prince Klemens Lothar Wenzel von Metternich
Francis, Joseph, and Paul Mezger
Military Orders of St. Michael
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola
Congregation of the Sisters of Misericorde
Prefecture Apostolic of Misocco and Calanca
Congregation of Priests of the Mission
Congregation of Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo
Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales of Annecy
Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle
Mission Indians (of California)
Catholic Indian Missions of Canada
Catholic Indian Missions of the United States
François-Napoléon-Marie Moigno
Diocese of Molfetta, Terlizzi, and Giovinazzo
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière
Principality and Diocese of Monaco
Canonical Erection of a Monastery
Monophysites and Monophysitism
Monothelitism and Monothelites
Montagnais Indians (Chippewayans)
Charles-Forbes-René, Comte de Montalembert
Marquis de Louis-Joseph Montcalm-Gozon
Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles
Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu
Anne, First Duke of Montmorency
Alexis-François Artaud de Montor
Antoine-Jean-Baptiste-Robert Auget, Baron de Montyon
Dioceses of Mostar and Markana-Trebinje
Feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary
Toribio de Benavente Motolinia
Congregations of Mount Calvary
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Karl Ernst, Freiherr von Moy de Sons
Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
St. Clair Augustine Mulholland
Baron Eligius Franz Joseph von Münch-Bellinghausen
Archdiocese of Munich-Freising
(In the world, MARIE GUYARD).
First superior of the Ursulines of Quebec, born at Tours, France, 28 Oct., 1599; died at Quebec, Canada, 30 April 1672. Her father was by birth a bourgeois; her mother was connected with the illustrious house of Barbon de la Bourdaisière. From infancy Marie gave evidences of great piety and detachment from the world. At the age of seventeen, in obedience to her parents, she was married to a silk manufacturer of the name of Martin, and devoted herself without reserve to the duties of a Christian wife. The union was a source of trials: the only consolation it brought her was the birth of a son, who afterwards became a Benedictine as Dom Claude, wrote his mother's biography and died in the odour of sanctity. Left a widow after two years of married life, she entertained the idea of joining the Ursulines, but the care which her child required of her delayed the realization of this project, until he had reached the age of twelve, when she followed her vocation unhesitatingly. The Ursuline Order had recently been introduced into France by Madame de Sainte-Beuve, and Madame Martin took the veil in the house of that order at Tours. The care of the novices was confided to her two years after her entry into the convent. She always felt intense zeal for saving souls, and at the age of about thirty-four she experienced new impulses of "the apostolic spirit which transported her soul even to the ends of the earth"; and the longing for her own sanctification, and the salvation of so many souls still under the shadows of paganism inspired her with the resolution to go and live in America. She communicated this desire to her confessor, who, after much hesitation, approved it. A pious woman, Mme de la Peltrie, provided the means for its execution. This lady, better known as Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny, by her generosity, and the sacrifice she made in leaving her family and her country, deserved to be called the co-worker of Marie de l'Incarnation in Canada. Sailing from Dieppe 3 April, 1639, with a few sisters who had begged to be allowed to accompany her, Marie de l'Incarnation, after a perilous voyage of three months, arrived at Quebec and was there joyfully welcomed by the settlers (4July). She and her companions at first occupied a little house in the lower town (Basse-Ville). In the spring of 1641 the foundation-stone was laid of the Ursuline monastery, on the same spot where it now stands. Marie de l'Incarnation was acknowledged as the superior. To be the more useful to the aborigines, she had set herself to learn their languages immediately on her arrival. Her piety, her zeal for the conversion and instruction of the young aborigines, and the wisdom with which she ruled her community were alike remarkable. She suffered great tribulations from the Iroquois who were threatening the colony, but in the midst of them she stood firm and was able to comfort the downcast. On 29 December, 1650, a terrible conflagration laid the Ursuline monastery in ashes. She suffered much from the rigours of winter, and took shelter first with the Hospitalières and then with Mme de la Peltrie. On 29 May of the following year she inaugurated the new monastery. The rest of her life she passed teaching and catechizing the young Indians, and died after forty years of labours, thirty-three of them spent in Canada.
Marie de l'Incarnation has left a few works which breathe unction, piety, and resignation to Divine Providence. "Des Lettres" (Paris, 1677-1681) contains in its second part an account of the events which took place in Canada during her time, and constitute one of the sources for the history of the French colony from 1639 to 1671. There are also a "Retraite", with a short exposition of the Canticle of Canticles, and a familiar "Explication" of the mysteries of the Faith — a catechism which she compiled for young religious women. CASGRAIN, Histoire de la Vén. Mère Marie de l'Incarnation, (Quebec, 1888); CHAPOT Hist. de la Vén. Mère Marie de l'Incarnation (Paris. 1S92); RICHAUDEAU, Lettres de la rév. Mère M. de l'I (Paris, 1876).
A. FOURNET