​Saint Jane Frances De Chantal

Today is the Feast of Saint Jane Frances De Chantal who lived in France. Jane is a very popular name in the west however not many people know about her life. Her father was president of parliament and she married a baron at the age of 21. They had four children. Jane was known for her devotion to the Eucharist. On her request her husband had daily mass in their household. She practiced the works of mercy so perfectly in her care of the sick and the poor that she was called a Perfect Woman. Jane was widowed after seven years of marriage when her husband died in a hunting accident. She was deeply distressed but after some time she forgave her husband's friend who caused the accident. Her father-in-law ordered her to live with him in servitude as a condition to give the inheritance to  her children. So she went to live with her father-in-law who eventually had a conversion. During a Lenten visit to her father's house she heard Francis De Sales preach. Frances became her friend and spiritual director. Under the guidance of Frances De Sales, Jane founded the cloistered Order of the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary. Before her death she had founded nearly eighty convents. Saint Jane is the patron saint of widows, forgotten people and children separated from parents.