LATEAU, LOUISE. - Mystic, stigmatist, b. at Bois d'Haine (Belgium) on 29 Jan. 1850, d. there on 25 Aug. 1883. The daughter of very poor peasants, she showed from childhood a great spirit of sacrifice (she cared for the plague-stricken in the epidemic of 1866) and a love of suffering. At the age of 16 she enrolled as a Franciscan tertiary.
After being cured twice from mortal illnesses, she received the first bloody stigmata on 24 Apr. 1868, which were repeated uninterruptedly every Friday until 2 years before her death, accompanied by long ecstasies (from 17 June 1868) during which, in complete anesthesia, she witnessed the Passion of Jesus and spoke with the Virgin and with the saints. From 1875 the pains of the stigmata became so severe that she could no longer get out of bed; from 1871 she lived in absolute fasting, taking only daily Communion. L. also had the gift of prophecy and was for a long time prey to diabolical obsessions.
Her case was studied by various physicians (among them R. Virchow) and was the subject of discussions at the Académie Royale de médecine de Belgique between Dr. F. Lefebvre, her defender (who published L. L., étude médicale, 2nd ed. Louvain 1873), and Warlmont, his opponent (cf. Bulletin de l'Académie Royale de médecine de Belgique, 9 [1876]).
Bibliography3 worksA. Thiéry, Nouvelle biographie de L. L. d'après les documents authentiques, 6 vols., Louvain 1915-21; M. Dudry and A. Wallemacq, La stigmati
BIBL.: A. Thiéry, Nouvelle biographie de L. L. d'après les documents authentiques, 6 vols., Louvain 1915-21; M. Dudry and A. Wallemacq, La stigmatiste belge, La servante de Dieu L. L. du Bois d'Haine, 3rd ed., Louvain 1947. On the fasting: H. Thurston, Some physical phenomena of Mysticism, in The Month, 137 (1921), pp. 148-58; 236-47. On the stigmatization: P. van Gehuichten, Étude médicale des stigmates de L. L., in Études carnéditaines, 20 (1936, II), pp. 81-92 and passim.
Orazi, Ausenda Renata. “Lateau, louise.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, coll. 933–938. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951. https://azioneromana.com/article/lateau-louise.
MLA
Orazi, Ausenda Renata. “Lateau, louise.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1951, coll. 933–938. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/lateau-louise.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec7_lateau_louise,
author = {Orazi, Ausenda Renata},
title = {Lateau, louise},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {VII},
pages = {933--938},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1951},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/lateau-louise}
}
One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.
Click or scroll to zoom · drag to pan · Esc to close
