At the service of Charity
In 1696, after having heard about the ignorance and misery in Sainville, 17 kilometres from Dourdan, she decided to leave everything to commit herself totally "to the service of charity”, “usefulness in the parish”. How? By forming “a community of Third Order of St. Dominic, to instruct the children and to serve the sick poor of the country side.” A Community of the Third Order of St. Dominic, to instruct the children and serve the sick poor For this, Marie leaves Dourdan, her securities, and the fame that surrounds her. She renounces in the spirit of the Gospel all that she possesses, making a donation in an official act on November 13, 1697, to Noëlle Mesnard, a novice from Sainville, first in the long list of the Dominican sisters of Charity. She did it as a Dominican in the presence of Fr. Mespolié o.p who helped her in her spiritual journey and Gabriel Debilly, the parish priest.