A Different Kind of Revolution

Group entering school
of the Sisters of St. Magdalene

"I shall not spend my day idly...I will go and seek the afflicted, although they are not difficult to find, for pain is spread and scattered everywhere...I have encountered all kinds of suffering--that of innocence, of guilt, or repentance.  Oh Good Lord, in Your name I will go and transform the tears of desperation into the sweet smiles of hope."--Juliette Colbert, the Marquise of Barolo

A Sr. of St. Magdalene
speaks to the FMA

And so she did!  Juilette Colbert spent her life helping the poor.  The founder of the Sisters of St. Magdalene, Juliette spent her time, talent, and treasure in helping inmates at the local jail.  There she saw humans treated as animals, and she knew she had to act.  She used her influence and money to provide better jails for the people, especially young women who have fallen on hard times.  To this end, she revolutionized the jail system in Turin which later became the model for all of Europe!  The congregation of the Sisters of St. Magdalene are the only community in the Church whose first Sister was an ex-convict!

This work still continues.  The community of the Sisters of St. Magdalene run a home for women who have been released from jail.  They stay at this home, with their children, and are educated, given job skills, and helped to return to society in a meaningful manner.

This is only one of the great works of this great woman!