"[5] Maria Petyt was born in Hazebrouck on 1 January 1623,[4] in the French part of Flanders near Dunkirk in present-day France, to parents who owned a fabric shop.

After a bout with smallpox at age eight, Maria was left with many facial marks, but despite these trials she remained an enthusiastic child, full of wit and joy.

[4][7][3] In 1640, against her father's wishes,[3] she lived for a time in a convent of Augustinian sisters in Ghent but did not join that order because, with her bad vision, "she cannot see the letters of the choral prayer.

In 1646, the direction of the Beguinage community was entrusted to a professor of philosophy, Michael of St. Augustine (born Jan van Ballaert),[3] who became her spiritual director.

Michael of St. Augustine, noticing Maria's spiritual work and mystical graces, suggested that she retire to a more solitary place.