Elisabeth Leseur

Elisabeth Leseur (1866 – 1914)

Elisabeth Arrighi was born into pampered wealth in Paris and raised as a proper young Catholic girl. It was all very thin, weak, and pro-forma, and she married a brilliant young doctor named Felix Leseur, who was also an intellectual atheist.

Elisabeth and Felix had a deep and passionate love for each other but were separated by their respective belief and unbelief. Elisabeth’s weak Catholic faith crumbled before Felix’s towering intellect, and she gave up her belief. And yet, as a strong woman with a brilliant mind, Elisabeth decided to put herself on a crash course of study of the Gospels, Patristics, and History and was soon convinced of the truth of Christianity and the weakness of her husband’s materialism and atheism.

Elisabeth began practicing her faith again at the age of 32, putting herself on a schedule of prayer, Mass, devotions, charitable works, and moderate mortifications as preached by St. Francis De Sales. Elisabeth. She privately wrote journals and spiritual exercise books, the leitmotif being that she wanted to avoid showy excesses of faith, do as much good for others as she could, and live her life and die if necessary to bring Felix back to Christ and the Church.

Elisabeth never enjoyed good health and having been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1911, and she slowly weakened and offered all her sufferings for Felix’s soul. Elisabeth died in 1914, and soon after, Felix discovered her journals and how she lived, loved, and suffered for her beloved husband.

Felix first had a mystical experience of Elisabeth’s presence, followed by a conversion that brought him back to the Church and the Sacraments. Felix then asked permission to enter the Dominican order, where he was ordained as a priest. Father Leseur traveled, preached and taught the hidden spirituality of love lived by his late wife.

The Elisabeth Leseur tile was created in 2022. Our 12" X 12" signed and numbered reproduction is created on stretch canvas and is suitable for matting and framing.