Sister Jane Frances de Chantal is the saint we commemorate today. Born in the city of Dijon in the Burgundy region of France in 1574, she married the Barron de Chantal, but was widowed at a young age with 4 children when her husband was killed in a hunting accident. She developed a close friendship and spiritual directee of Frances de Sales, who was Bishop of Geneva at the time. Under the direction of de Sales, she help found the consecrated religious order of the Visitation sisters, which takes inspiration from Mary’s ministry to her cousin Elizabeth. After the death of St Frances de Sales, St Vincent de Paul became her spiritual director. The order had 86 monasteries by the time of her death at the age of 69. The spirituality of the order emphasizes gentleness, humility, and prayer and the practice of virtues such as kindness, patience, and joy. As we hear in the Gospel the disciples asking who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, we might think about St Jane Frances de Chantal and the Visitation sisters, of the virtues they follow, which is very different than wanting to be the greatest. We unite our prayers with the prayers of St Jane Frances de Chantal today.
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