Anne-Marguerite-Adélaïde-Émilie (religious name Emily) de Vialar was born on September 12, 1797 at Gaillac to the noble Portal-de-Vialar family. Educated at the Sacred Heart Convent of Paris under St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (see her existing entry), Emily undertook the vocation of the post-Revolutionary Catholic revival.
In 1832, at the age of 35, Emily founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition at Gaillac — the French congregation dedicated to the Mediterranean missions: education, healthcare, and systematic Catholic ministry across North Africa and the Levant.
The Sisters established schools and hospitals at Algiers (1835, the first French Catholic religious congregation in French Algeria), Tunis, Malta, Jerusalem, and multiple Mediterranean cities.
Emily served as Superior of the Sisters until her death at Marseille on August 24, 1856 at the age of 58.