Introduction
In the Catholic encyclopedia Theo, the mystic (male or female) is “the person in whose life the mystery of God is of great importance and who puts all their efforts into seeking to live in communion with Him.” In fairly rare cases, this union is manifested by extraordinary phenomena: visions, prophesies, ecstasies, levitation, bi-location, stigmata....Most often, mysticism describes a personal experience of the presence of God. The mystic perceives the divine presence in a very real way and bears witness to it. Throughout the history of Catholicism, writing has an important place in the pathway of mystics. Firstly, it bears witness to their faith which they wish to transmit to other believers. Secondly, it is part of their attempt to communicate with God and/or with Christ, to whom, furthermore, they address themselves in their texts.
In the 20th century, several women have a special place in the history of Catholic mystic literature. Simone Weil[1] , Adrienne von Speyr[2] , Edith Stein[3] , Etty Hillesum[4] and Marie Noël, whose real name was Marie Rouget, whose death fifty years ago is commemorated this year. The spirituality of her work as well as her exemplary life persuaded the Plenary Assembly of the French Episcopal Conference[5] to ask the competent dicastery[6] of Rome (the Congregation for the Causes of Saints[7] ) to allow them to carry out the required inquiry into her cause with a view to her beatification[8] . The literary-spiritual journey of Marie Noël is an interesting and enlightening example of the way in which a Catholic woman who was not a nun made a contribution to what her contemporaries described as mysticism in the 20th century.
