Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
A saint for many walks of life
By Father Louis J. Cameli, STD
Saint Jane Frances de Chantal was born in France in 1572 and died there 69 years later in 1641. In those years, she lived a life both ordinary and extraordinary. The prayer for her feast day captures this very well:
O God, who made Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
radiant with outstanding merits in different
walks of life,
grant us, through her intercession,
that, walking faithfully in our vocation,
we may constantly be example of shining light.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Jane was born into a noble family, and at age 20, she married a nobleman, Baron Christophe de Chantal. His estate and, in fact, all his holdings were in peril because of bad management. She managed, through her hard work and financial acumen, to bring order and prosperity to their household. They loved each other very much. They had seven children, but heartbreakingly lost three in infancy. Tragically, St. Jane’s husband died in a hunting accident. Although it took some time, she was eventually able to forgive the person who had accidentally inflicted the mortal blow on her husband.
After her husband’s death, Saint Jane met Saint Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director. He helped her advance in her spiritual journey. In an age that aspired to embrace heroic ideals of self-mortification and other spiritual practices, Saint Francis de Sales counseled her to live a life of simple humility, fidelity and ready service for others. She did this and advanced greatly in the spiritual life.
Together with Saint Francis de Sales, she founded a new religious order, the Sisters of the Visitation. This order would accept candidates who may have been in ill health or were older, those whom other religious congregations were reluctant to accept. The order combined cloistered living with outreach to those in need beyond the convent walls. Church officials resisted this combination of a contemplative and active life, but time has proven the rightness of the direction that Saint Jane set for her community.
As we step back and view the life of this remarkable, faith-filled and creative woman, we can find ample inspiration for our own lives today. She was a wife, a mother, a grieving mother, a widow, and a vowed religious. At every moment and in every way, she sought a simple and direct path to God. She gives us an encouraging example in our own moment, no matter what the circumstances of our life may be.
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