St. Jane Frances of Chantal

St. Jane Frances of Chantal (born January 28, 1572, Dijon, France—died December 13, 1641, Moulins; canonized 1767; feast day August 12) was a French Roman Catholic nun and the cofounder of the Visitation Order (Vistandines), a religious order of nuns who were dedicated to charity work, visiting and caring for the sick and poor in their homes, and prayer. She is venerated as the patron saint of forgotten people, difficulties with in-laws, loss of parents, and widows.

Born Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot, in 1592 she married Baron de Chantal, who was killed in a hunting accident (1601), leaving her with four children. In 1604 she heard St. Francis de Sales preach the Lenten sermons at Dijon (France) and placed herself under his direction. In 1610, after her eldest daughter had married and her 14-year-old son was provided for, she took her two remaining daughters to Annecy, where with Francis she founded the Visitation Order. She was bereaved by the death of Francis (1622), and in 1627 her son died in battle. She transformed her convent at Annecy into a hospital during the plague of 1628. She died in her convent at Moulins en route from Paris, to which city she had been invited by Queen Anne of Austria.

At the time of St. Jane Frances de Chantal’s death in 1641, the Visitation Order had 86 houses. In the late 20th century there were about 190 Visitandine monasteries.