Saint Jeanne Delanoue

Life story

Jeanne was born on 18 June 1666 in Saumur, the youngest of twelve children. Her family ran a shop near the sanctuary of Our Lady of Ardilliers, which drew many pilgrims. Her father died when she was six, and she helped her mother run the shop to support the family. She worked tirelessly, even on Sundays and feast days.

When she was about twenty-seven, after her mother's death, an elderly pilgrim invited her to give her life to the poor of her neighbourhood. She believed this was God's call, and serving the poor gradually became her full-time work. According to the Vatican biography, in 1700 she took in a child, and then the sick, the aged and the destitute. Lacking space, she first sheltered them in caves hollowed out of the rock.

In 1704 young women came to help her, some willing to wear a religious habit; this was the beginning of the congregation of Sainte-Anne de la Providence. Its constitutions were approved in 1709, and in 1715 she opened Saumur's first home for the poor. When she died on 17 August 1736 she had about forty helpers and left a dozen communities, along with homes for the poor and schools. Pope Pius XII beatified her on 5 November 1947 and Pope John Paul II canonized her on 31 October 1982.

Works and witness

• Ran the family shop near the shrine of Our Lady of Ardilliers after her father's death
• Devoted herself to the poor after her mother died, taking in the sick, the aged and the destitute
• Founded the congregation of Saint Anne of the Providence in 1704; constitutions approved in 1709
• Opened Saumur's first home for the poor in 1715
• Died on 17 August 1736; canonized on 31 October 1982

Saints from the same country

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint Louis IX of France, Saint Joan of Arc, Saint Francis de Sales

References

• Vatican, 'Jeanne Delanoue (1666-1736) - biography' (canonization, 31 Oct 1982)

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.