St. Jane Frances de Chantal | August 12

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal was born to a noble family in Dijon, France, on January 28, 1572. Her mother died when she was an infant. Her father raised her and provided for her education. In 1592 She married the Baron de Chantal, the couple were devoted to each other. They had six children, three of whom died in infancy. As Baroness, Saint Jane Frances restored the custom of daily Mass, and was famous for her charitable works. Unfortunately, her husband died in a hunting accident only eight years after their marriage. Devastated Jane Frances was forced to live in her father-in-law’s strict household where she took a vow of chastity.

In 1604 while visiting her father in Dijon, she met Saint Francis de Sales and he became her close friend and spiritual director. Although not many of their epistles have survived, the pair had a lively correspondence which lasted until Saint Francis died.

Under the direction of St. Francis de Sales and with his partnership she established the Congregation of the Visitation at Annecy in 1610. This was a unique order, without the extreme ascetical practices typical in other religious orders, accepting women and girls and those rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. The new order was also unusual in its public ministry, rather than a strictly cloistered life. Saint Jane transformed her convent at Annecy into a hospital during the plague of 1628.

The saint died at the Visitation Convent in Moulins on December 13, 1641. At the time of her death, there were 86 convents of Visitation nuns. She was canonized in 1767 by Pope Clement XIII.