Bl Mary of the Incarnation, also known as Madam Acarie, optional memoria

Barbe Avrillot was born in Paris in 1566. At the age of sixteen she married Pierre Acarie, by whom she had seven children. Through her household duties and many hardships, she attained the heights of the mystical life. Under the influence of Saint Teresa’s writings, and after mystical contact with the saint herself, she spared no effort in introducing the Discalced Carmelite Nuns into France. After her husband’s death, she asked to be admitted among them as a lay sister, taking the name of Mary of the Incarnation; she was professed at the Carmel of Amiens in 1615. She was esteemed by some of the greatest men of her time, including Saint Francis de Sales; and she was distinguished by her spirit of prayer and her zeal for the extension of the Catholic Faith. She died at Pontoise on April 18, 1618. After Carmelite Breviar. Picture after 'Catholic Daily Readings'.