Born Marie Pauline Picard in Ixelles in 1872, she dedicates her life to caring for others. Together with her husband, Antoine Depage, she opens a private hospital, followed by a nursing school led by the renowned Edith Cavell. But that’s not all. In 1910 she also founds the Belgian Scout movement. 

When the First Balkan War breaks out, the whole family heads to the front. Marie as a nurse, her husband as a doctor, their son as a stretcher-bearer. They all choose the same path: helping others in the midst of war. 

Then the First World War begins, and Marie does it all again. Together with her husband, she opens four military hospitals to care for the wounded. 

But hospitals are expensive to run. Marie travels to the United States to raise funds. Her mission in a success. Then, on the journey home, tragedy strikes. Her ship, the RMS Lusitania, is torpedoed. 

Even then, Marie thinks of others before herself. She tends to the wounded, helps evacuate passengers and bandages the hands of the sailors launching the lifeboats. Only then does she try to save herself. She disappears beneath the waves. 

Today, her name lives on. A street in Uccle and a bus stop bear her name. A lasting tribute to a heroine who never stopped caring for others, even in her final moments.