Saint Jane Frances de Chantal

<p>Jane Frances Frémiot was born at Dijon, France, in 1572. She and her husband, Baron de Chantal, had six children. In 1601, her husband died in an accident and after overcoming her initial depression, Jane Frances sought the spiritual dimension of her suffering. With her spiritual advisor, Francis de Sales, she founded the Congregation of the Visitation for women who wished to live a religious life but could not endure the austerity of the existing religious orders. Committed to working with the sick and the poor, she died in 1641, having established about 85 monasteries.<br /></p>
<p>©2011 <em>Living with Christ, </em>Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., <strong>http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/</strong&gt;. Reprinted with permission.</p>