Berthe Petit
Berthe Petit was born on 3 January 1870, the third daughter of notary Petit and Jeanne Meys in Enghien (Belgium). Her health was fragile and she also suffered a severe attack of typhus when she was 14. She was later sent to boarding school (1886-1887, Dames Bernardines in Ollignies, Hainaut) but had to leave due to her parents having financial problems. Giving up her dream to become a nun, she dedicated herself to the well-being of her parents, who she managed to support even while her own health deteriorated. When she was 38, she could no longer eat solid food and only drank a little coffee. She only slept for a quarter of an hour every night and suffered immense pains in her spine, knees and fingers.
Berthe’s life was filled with mystical experiences: she had her first apparition of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus when she was only 4 years old. When she was 15, she decided she wanted to be a victim for the sanctification of the clergy, and claimed to suffer in mind and body the pain that Mary and Jesus experienced. Like Catherine of Siena, Berthe asked the Lord not to make her stigmata visible, yet she felt their pain every Friday. On 7 February 1910, Berthe claimed to see the hearts of Jesus and Mary entwined. A few days later, in Saint Anne (Alsace), she received the message that her mission would be to realize the consecration of the world to the sorrowful and immaculate Heart of Mary. Petit communicated her message to Pope Pius X through the Belgian cardinal, Mercier. The mission seems to have been a success and on 30 March 1911 the pope promised a 100 day indulgence to those who called upon the Heart of Mary. Throughout her life, Berthe remained a loyal apostle of this devotion and made prophecies as well (e.g. concerning the First and the Second World Wars).
After her death in 1943, numerous people came to see her body, and soon the first attestations about graces obtained through her mediation were heard.
Duffner, 1950. Berthe Petit. Tielt: Lannoo.
Colin, 1967. Berthe Petit. Apôtre du Coeur Douloureux et immaculé de Marie. Paris : Nouvelles éditions Latines.