Louise of France (Thérèse de St. Augustin), ven.
LOUISE OF FRANCE (THÉRÈSE DE ST. AUGUSTIN), VEN.
Daughter of Louis XV of France and Maria Leszczynska; b. Versailles, July 15, 1737; d. St. Denis, Dec. 23, 1787. She was educated at the Convent of fontevrault as a child, and at 14 came to court where she led a pious life. In 1770, after the death of her mother, she entered the Carmelite Convent of Saint-Denis. As novice mistress and prioress, she devoted herself to penances to bring about the conversion of her father; she was noted for her devotion to the observance of the rule and to the Church. The cause of her beatification was introduced in 1873. Her Eucharistic Meditations and her spiritual testaments for her Carmelite daughters were published after her death, and her letters were published by M. Faucon in 1878.
Bibliography: c. a. geoffroy de grandmaison, Madame Louise de France (2d ed. Paris 1925). j. lenfant, Chez Madame Louise de France (Paris 1936). a. hofmeister, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (Freiburg 1930–38) 6:707. g. mesters, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche (Freiburg 1957–65) 6:1202.
[w. e. langley]