Saint of the Day – 2 February – St Jeanne de Lestonnac ODN (1556-1640) Widow, Founder

Saint of the Day – 2 February – St Jeanne de Lestonnac ODN (1556-1640) Widow, Mother, Founder of the The Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady ODN (Latin: Ordinis Dominae Nostrae).  Born on 27 December 1556 at Bordeaux, France and died on 2 February 1640 of natural causes. Patronages – of widows, abuse victims.  Also known as – Jane de Lestonnac, Joan de Lestonnac, Joanne. Additional Memorial – 15 May on some Calendars.

Jeanne was born in Bordeaux in 1556 to Richard de Lestonnac, a member of the Parlement of Bordeaux and Jeanne Eyquem, the sister of the noted philosopher, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. She grew up in a time where the conflict between the Protestants and the defenders of the Catholic Faith was at its height. This was evident in her own family. While her mother became an enthusiastic Calvinist and tried to persuade her to convert, her father and her uncle Montaigne, adhered to the Catholic Faith and were her support in withstanding her own mother’s influence. Jeanner remained a devoted Catholic.

At the age of 17 she married Gaston de Montferrant, with whom she had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. She was married for 24 years when her husband died. This marked the beginning of a very painful period in her life, with the further loss, within seven months, of her father, uncle and eldest son.

Following her husband’s death, Jeanne, at the age of 46 and with her children now grown, turned to a contemplative life and entered the Cistercian Monastery in Toulouse, where she was given the religious name of “Jeanne of Saint Bernard.” She found great peace and satisfaction in the monastic life but, after six months, she became very ill and had to leave the Monastery. She then went to live on her estate La Mothe Lusié to recover her health and where she adopted the lifestyle of a secular Sister, performing many acts of charity, including food and alms distribution and Jeanne regularly met with young women of her social class, to pray and discuss religious questions. She sought for models of Catholic women to be her guides and cultivated an interest in the lives of St Scholastica, St Clare of Assisi, St Catherine of Siena and St Teresa of Avila.

A few years later, in 1605, an epidemic of the Plague erupted in Bordeaux. At risk to her own life, Jeanne returned to her native City to help care for the sick and suffering in the slums and poorest regions of Bordeaux.

Jeanne’s brother, a Jesuit attached to the college in Bordeaux, arranged a meeting between his sister and two Jesuit Priests – Jean de Bordes and François de Raymond. The Jesuits asked her to serve as founder of a new teaching order for young women. They encouraged her to establish for girls, in terms of formal education, what they were doing for boys. The three decided upon a cloistered community to follow the Benedictine Rule, modified to allow Sisters to teach. The group gained the approval of Pope Paul V in 1607. The community took the name of the Compagnie de Notre-Dame.

An old priory was purchased near the Château Trompette but moved in September 1610, to a larger old Monastery on Rue du Hâ. They were well-received and financially supported by the City’s elite. The first five members of the new Order took their religious vows on 10 December 1610. The community established its first school for girls in Bordeaux. Foundations proceeded in Beziers, Périgueux and Toulouse through Jeanne’s personal connections, as well as her connections with the Jesuits and Bordelaise political elite. By the time she died in 1640, 30 Houses existed in France that is roughly one new foundation per year for 30 years.

Two of her daughters and at least one granddaughter had now joined the Order. Revised Rules and Constitutions for the congregation were drawn up in 1638. Joeanne was now over 80 and her health was beginning to fail. She spent her last years in seclusion as she prepared for death. But in her last years she was highly honoured by her Order. She died peacefully on 2 February 1640 in Bordeaux, aged 84, just after the sisters had renewed their vows on the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady. Her body is said to have been as healthy and emitted a sweet smell for several days afterwards. She was buried in the Cemetery of the Convent in Rue du Ha.

St Jeanne was Beatified on 23 December 1900 by Pope Leo XIII and was CanoniSed on 15 May 1949 by Pope Pius XII. As of 2016, her religious order has over 1,450 Sisters found in 27 Countries throughout Europe, Africa, North America and South America.