About Today for

August 12

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious

Optional Memorial

St. Jane was born in Dijon, France in 1572. Her father was a supporter of Henry IV and the president of the Parliament of Burgundy. At age 20, she married Baron de Chantal. They had four children, before a shooting accident left St. Jane widowed. After her husband’s death, she took a vow of chastity and, in 1604, sought spiritual direction with St. Frances de Sales. In 1610, they formed the Congregation of the Visitation. The order was unusual: it accepted young women and widows deemed not physically qualified by other orders, and members of the Visitation went outside their convents to serve the needy. The order prospered and by 1767, the year she was canonized, there were 164 communities of the Order. [1][2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
[1] Catholicpedia: The Original Catholic Encyclopedia (1917) for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. s.v. “Jane Frances De Chantal. ”
[2] F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), 726.
Note: Optional Memorials and Commemorations are optional celebrations and, at present, we do not include content specific to these special days. This “About Today” is provided so that you can celebrate this Saint as you worship Christ.