At Malonne in Belgium, Saint Mutien-Marie (Aloysius) Wiaux, brother of the Christian Schools, who devoted almost his entire life, with the greatest constancy and unfailing cheerfulness, to the education of the young.
Lifespan: 1841–1917
Beatified: 30 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI
Canonized: 10 December 1989 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Basilica
Memoria liturgica: 30 January
The Brother Who Always Prayed
Brother Mutien-Marie — Louis-Joseph Wiaux in the world — was born on 20 March 1841 at Mellet in Belgium and was baptized the same day. Having received from his parents a deeply Christian upbringing, witnessed by their example, he quickly became a model for his companions, especially in his devotion to the Virgin.
After completing his compulsory studies, he went to work in his father’s workshop — the blacksmith’s forge at Mellet — but a few months later the Lord called him to a life consecrated to His service.
At fifteen, on 7 April 1856, he entered the novitiate of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. On the feast of the Visitation he received, together with the religious habit, the name of Brother Mutien-Marie.
The field of his first catechetical and teaching apostolate was a class of young children at Chimay; he then taught for a year in Brussels. In 1859 religious obedience transferred him to the college at Malonne, where he remained until his death in 1917.
Having encountered professional difficulties owing to his youth and inexperience, he ran the risk of being dismissed from the Congregation as unsuitable for the school apostolate. That severe trial marked the beginning of a humble and hidden life, with rather modest duties: supervision, supplementary lessons in drawing and music — though he had no particular aptitude for either discipline. Ever obedient and willing, he applied himself to the study of the piano, the harmonium, and other instruments, finding the strength for his constant effort in the love of God. And this for more than fifty years!
Mindful that his Congregation had been founded for “the Christian education of the poor,” he asked his superiors for permission to go to the free school attached to the college, to teach catechism to the children of the people — to whom he felt especially close — and in those long years he revealed to them, with extraordinary commitment and dedication, the riches of the Faith. For all his pupils, rich or poor, great or small, Brother Mutien-Marie was a model, a sign of God’s presence and goodness. The good he accomplished was incalculable: it was attested by the young men who had been in his care.
The hallmark of Brother Mutien-Marie was obedience — even heroic obedience — to every provision of the Rule. A fellow brother who had lived with him in community for many years testified: “Take the Rule, from the first chapter to the last: beneath every article you may write: Brother Mutien-Marie observed it to the letter! That will be his most faithful biography.” In serene and trusting adherence to the will of his superiors, for fifty years and more he faithfully carried out every task entrusted to him. Brother Mutien-Marie had committed himself to a precise choice: to do the will of God in all things and with the utmost perfection.
Following the teachings of his Founder, he allowed himself to be guided by a faith that let him see God in every action. The new saint lived in unbroken contact with the Lord; his presence was constant. At half past four in the morning he was already on his knees before the Tabernacle; he would then move to the altar of Mary. Throughout the day the rosary slipped through his fingers; the movement of his lips revealed his continuous prayer. He made frequent visits to the Most Blessed Sacrament during the day, as well as pilgrimages to the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes erected in the college park, and to other places of devotion.
His pupils, filled with admiration at his piety, called him “the Brother who always prays.” He urged them insistently to devotion to the Eucharist and to the Most Blessed Virgin, and all knew that the invitation sprang from a daily, lifelong practice.
At the close of his life he could exclaim with humility and gratitude: “How happy one is when, like me, one stands on the brink of the grave and has always had a great devotion to Our Lady!” This was his last message before entering his agony.
Brother Mutien-Marie surrendered his soul to God on 30 January 1917. On the very day of his death, favours attributed to his intercession were reported. Soon crowds of pilgrims were making their way to his tomb. Miracles multiplied. The ecclesiastical tribunal was established a mere six years after his death. In 1977, Paul VI proclaimed this humble religious — who had lived by prayer, humility, work, and obedience — Blessed. John Paul II canonized him and presented him as a model to all Christians, and especially to his brothers in religion and to educators, upon whom falls the delicate task of forming upright citizens for earthly life and elect souls for heaven.