Émilie de Rodat was born on 6 September 1787, to a noble family, in "a handsome manor-house called Druelle"[1] facing the plateau on which Rodez stands, in southern France.

When she was 16, "her enthusiasm for religion cooled somewhat"[3] and she changed confessors because she thought hers was too strict; after quarrelling with her grandmother, she returned to live with her parents at Ginals, where in 1804, she had a spiritual experience that drew her into religious life.

[2] She met the Abbé Marty, the school's spiritual director, who became her confessor from 1805 to 1839; with his support and encouragement, Rodat investigated joining three communities, but always returned to Villefranche because none seemed to suit her; she blamed herself for her "restlessness and instability".

[3] In the spring of 1815, she was inspired to start a school for girls after overhearing a group of poor women discussing how their daughters were growing up without religious instruction because they were unable to pay for it themselves and the Ursuline nuns that taught them for no cost were driven away during the Revolution.

Two years later, she was able to buy better buildings for her school, but the congregation's existence was threatened by a series of unexplained illnesses and deaths of the students and teachers that was attributed to "diabolic influence".

Rodat and her nuns took perpetual vows in the autumn of 1820, and according to church historian and hagiographer Alban Butler, they adopted a habit "of which the distinguishing feature was the transparent edge of the veil covering the upper part of the face".

[2] They were also threatened by legal action, some members of the Maison Saint-Cyr community were hostile to them, and they had to endure ridicule and criticism from lay people and clergy.

Her health difficulties, along with the loss of direct support from the Abbé Marty when he was appointed vicar general of the diocese of Rodez, caused her to experience a "period of spiritual despair".

[3]  A life of intense prayer brought her inner peace of mind, but outwardly she seemed sullen, strict, and unattractive; she was sometimes careless with her personal appearance, especially how she dressed, to counteract her pride, what she perceived as her main weakness.

[5] She died on 19 September 1852, at the age of 65, and was buried in the crypt in the chapel of the first home she founded in Villefrance, which became a pilgrimage destination and where many people received prayers through her.