Eugenia Smet was a 19th-century French religious founder born in Lille in 1825. She established the Society of Helpers in 1856, a community dedicated to assisting souls in Purgatory through various forms of service. Following the Ignatian spiritual tradition, she made her first religious vows in December 1857. After a life of service, she passed away in Paris in 1871 at the age of 45 due to breast cancer.