Blessed Marie-Thérèse de Soubiran was born on May 16, 1834, in Castelnaudary, a market town in southwestern France. As a child, she belonged to the Confraternity of the Children of Mary, run by her uncle, Father Louis de Soubiran. At the age of 20, after spending a year as a Beguin lay sister in a community in Belgium, she returned to France. There, with her companions, she established the initial structure of a new religious community. For several years, they lived a life of poverty, immersed in prayer and the work of caring for poor girls.In 1864, Blessed Marie-Thérèse attended a thirty-day Jesuit retreat in Toulouse. There, she realized that God was calling her to persevere in her new foundation. Two years later, after consecrating the Congregation to Mary, she founded the Sisters of Marie-Auxiliatrice, with the primary mission of educating girls.