Su fama crecía así como su soberbia. En el año 1914 realizó su última presentación. Su fama había trascendido las fronteras, y se esperaba que hiciera una gira por los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, la fama, el dinero y el éxito sumieron a Eva en una gran depresión.

Un día, dejó Eva su carro estacionado frente al teatro y caminó hasta el puente de Alejandro III para lanzarse al río Sena; un obrero que pasaba por allí la vio y se lanzó para salvarla. Eva se quitó un anillo muy costoso que tenía y se lo regaló al obrero. Desde ese momento comenzó una transformación en ella.

Abandonó París y alquiló el castillo de Chanceaux-sur-Choiselles. Allí conoció al padre Chasteigner, quien la invita a asistir a la iglesia. Eva le dice al padre que ella no conoce a Dios, sino al diablo.

El Padre no se conformó con la respuesta que Eva le dio y al otro día fue a visitarla; llevó consigo un libro que hablaba sobre la vida de María Magdalena; Eva leyó el texto con fervor, y desde ese momento sintió el llamado de Dios.

Muchas iglesias cristianas la rechazaron por no creer en su conversión. Sin embargo, Eva no se dio por vencida, y el padre Chasteigner tampoco.

Trascendentes fueron las palabras que el sacerdote le dijo a la Madre Superiora del Convento de la Inmaculada:

Permítame que le diga, Reverenda Madre, que tal vez no tenga usted en su Convento un alma tan espiritual y tan bella como la de esta artista. ¡Cuán bello y hermoso es el cambio obrado por la gracia divina en las almas!

La insistencia de Eva y del padre surtieron efecto, y el 19 de septiembre del año 1920, la Tercera Orden Franciscana la acepta como monja seglar.

Entre los años 1921 y 1923 Eva viaja a Túnez y allí ayudó económicamente a muchas familias necesitadas. Decidió vivir en la pobreza. De alguna manera, regresa a su infancia cuando estaba al lado de sus padres, ya casi no tenían para comer.

Eva falleció el 11 de julio de 1929, a los 63 años. Su espitafio dice:

Lo dejé todo por Dios. Solo Él me basta. Tú que me creaste, ten piedad de mí.

Muchos han sido los libros que se han escrito sobre la interesante vida de esta artista, de intensa vida.

_Wikipedia

Fuentes consultadas:

_{https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/lavalliere-eve-c-1866-1929}

_{https://portaluz.org/personajes/tragedia-redencion-actriz-eve-lavalliere-n6100}

Her real name was Eugènie Marie Pascaline Fenoglio, and she was born on April 1, 1866, in Toulon, France.

She spent her childhood in a home of extreme poverty. Her father was French and her mother Italian. Both worked as tailors.

Her father made costumes for the Bijoo Theater, while her mother sewed to order for private clients.

When she was young, she attended church and was also fascinated by the theater.

One day, in the midst of a heated argument, her father, who had serious alcohol problems, murdered her mother in front of her and then committed suicide. Her older brother ran away from home and she never saw him again.

She was orphaned, under the care of Madame Garnier, a relative of her mother, who sent her to a convent, from which she soon fled.

_{Eva Lavallière Wikipedia}

As a teenager, he managed to reach Paris, where he began working as a dancer in bars and cabarets.

Between the years 1884 and 1890 she became the lover of the Marquis de la Vallete:

_{Marquis de la Vallete Wikipedia}

She maintained a romantic relationship, between 1890 and 1897, with Ferdinand Samuel, who was the director of the Teatre des Variétès; With him she had a daughter named Jeanne Louveau, about whom little is known.

_{Ferdinand Samuel Wikipedia}

In 1908 she had her greatest splendor as a theater actress. All the European kings and princes traveled to Paris especially to see her on stage.

Her fame grew, as did her arrogance. In 1914, she gave her last performance. Her fame had transcended borders, and she was expected to tour the United States. However, fame, money, and success plunged Eva into a deep depression.

One day, Eva left her car parked in front of the theater and walked to the Alexandre III Bridge to jump into the Seine River. A passing worker saw her and jumped in to save her. Eva took off a very expensive ring she was wearing and gave it to the worker. From that moment on, a transformation began in her.

She left Paris and rented the Château de Chanceaux-sur-Choiselles. There she met Father Chasteigner, who invited her to attend church. Eva told the father that she didn't know God, but the devil.

The Father wasn't satisfied with Eva's answer, and the next day he went to visit her. He brought with him a book about the life of Mary Magdalene. Eva read it fervently, and from that moment on, she felt God's calling.

Many Christian churches rejected her because they didn't believe in her conversion. However, Eva didn't give up, and neither did Father Chasteigner.

The words the priest spoke to the Mother Superior of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception were transcendent:

Let me tell you, Reverend Mother, that perhaps you do not have in your Convent a soul as spiritual and beautiful as that of this artist. How beautiful and wonderful is the change wrought by divine grace in souls!

Eva and her father's insistence had an effect, and on September 19, 1920, the Franciscan Third Order accepted her as a secular nun.

Between 1921 and 1923, Eva traveled to Tunisia and there she financially assisted many needy families. She decided to live in poverty. In a way, she regressed to her childhood when she was with her parents, who had almost nothing to eat.

Eva died on July 11, 1929, at the age of 63. Her spitaph reads:

I left everything for God. He alone is enough for me. You who created me, have mercy on me.

Many books have been written about the interesting and intense life of this artist.

_Wikipedia

Thank you for reading

Cc. @kouba01, @dove11 y @weisser-rabe.