Charlene Richard was the second-oldest of ten children born to Joseph Elvin and Mary Alice Richard. Those who knew her—both adults and children—remembered her as bright, active, and very much a normal young girl. Although she was a devout Catholic, her faith life reflected what was typical in her Cajun community. Her mother once said, “She liked sports and was always busy with something. She went to church and said her rosary, but she was just a normal little girl.”

In May 1959, after reading a book about St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Charlene asked her grandmother whether she too could become a saint by praying like the Little Flower.

Not long after, Charlene began reporting the appearance of a tall woman dressed in black who would suddenly vanish. Her teacher also noticed that Charlene was not acting like herself. Concerned, her mother brought her to a physician. Just two weeks before her death, Charlene was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia and admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana.

At her family’s request, the newly ordained hospital chaplain, Fr. Joseph Brennan, gently informed Charlene that she was going to die. He introduced her to the Catholic teaching on redemptive suffering. Despite the pain of her illness, Charlene remained cheerful, accepted her condition with remarkable peace, and offered her suffering to God. Fr. Brennan was deeply moved by her faith and visited her daily.

During her final days, Charlene prayed fervently for the healing and conversion of others. The hospital’s Director of Pediatrics, Sister Theresita Crowley—a Catholic nun—also witnessed Charlene’s serenity and selflessness. Both Fr. Brennan and Sister Theresita later testified that the people Charlene prayed for either recovered from their illnesses or entered the Catholic Church.

Charlene Richard passed away on August 11, 1959, and was laid to rest in Richard, Louisiana.