Reverend Mother An abbess ( Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, ...

Saint Mathilde Raclot (born Marie-Justine Raclot; 9 February 1814 – 20 January 1911) was a 19th-century

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

nun and missionary from the

Sisters of the Infant Jesus The Sisters of the Infant Jesus, also known as the Dames of Saint Maur, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church originating from Paris, France and dedicated to teaching. History Origins In 1659 Barré, who was a respected scholar wit ...

who traveled to different countries in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

to set up Catholic schools and orphanages. In

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, she founded the

Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus The Sisters of the Infant Jesus, also known as the Dames of Saint Maur, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church originating from Paris, France and dedicated to teaching. History Origins In 1659 Barré, who was a respected scholar ...

girls' school and later traveled to Japan where she established a hospice and homeless shelter. In 2014, Mother Mathilde Raclot was inducted into the

Singapore Women's Hall of Fame The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame is a virtual hall of fame that honors and documents the lives of historically significant women in Singapore. The hall is the creation of the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO), and grew out of an ...

Early life

Marie-Justine Raclot was born in 1814 to French soldier Francis Raclot and his wife Charlotte Lamirelle of a middle-class family in the small village of Suriauville in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. As the granddaughter of the village mayor she was sent to a boarding school in

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then L ...

run by the

where she returned at the age of 18 to join the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus. After two years she was given the religious name Mathilde and sent to teach in

Bagnols-sur-Cèze Bagnols-sur-Cèze (, literally ''Bagnols on Cèze''; oc, Banhòus de Céser) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie région in southern France. History A small regional center, Bagnols-sur-Cèze was quite certainly a Roman tow ...

, followed by

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

and

Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises ...

Missionary work

On 18 September 1852, Mother Mathilde embarked with three other Sisters on a voyage to

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

to guide and support the group of Sisters whose previous mission had failed a year earlier. The sisters landed in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

in October 1852 and began work at an orphanage and school before traveling to

in February 1854 under request of Father

Jean-Marie Beurel Reverend Father Jean-Marie Beurel (5 February 1813 - 3 October 1872) was a French Catholic priest and missionary who founded the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, the St Joseph’s Institution and the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus girls' sch ...

. Mother Mathilde remained in

and eventually establishing Christian girls' school the

and opening an orphanage to care for abandoned children. In 1872, Mother Mathilde and her Sisters traveled to Japan where they founded the Saint Maur School at

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kana ...

to teach and care for Japanese children. She received permission in 1876 to stay there indefinitely.

Death

On 20 January 1911, Mother Mathilde Raclot died at the age of 96 and was buried at the

Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

Legacy

In 2014, owing to her contributions to Singapore, Mother Mathilde Raclot was inducted into the

References

External links

Sisters of the Infant JesusArticle "Mère Sainte Mathilde Raclot" (Infant Jesus Sisters' Archives Website)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raclot, Mathilde 1814 births 1911 deaths 20th-century French nuns French Roman Catholic missionaries People from Lorraine 19th-century French nuns