Saint Claudine Thevenet
Saint Claudine Thévenet (born March 30, 1774 AD in Lyon, France; died February 3, 1837 AD in Lyon, France) was a French foundress who established the Religious of Jesus and Mary, a congregation dedicated to the education of poor and abandoned girls. Her heart was formed by the horrors of the French Revolution — she watched her two brothers guillotined — and she devoted the rest of her life to bringing hope to suffering children. She was beatified in 1981 and canonized in 1993. Her feast day is February 3.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Claudine Thevenet
| Saint Claudine Thevenet | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | February 03 |
| Profession | Foundress of the Religious of Jesus and Mary; teacher; philanthropist |
| Rel. Affiliation | Religious of Jesus and Mary |
| Patronage | Orphans; abandoned children; girls' education; Lyon |
| Attributes | Nun's habit; children; lily; cross |
| Birthplace | Lyon, Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France |
| Death Place | Lyon, Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Liturgical Class | Optional Memorial |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Claudine Thévenet was born in 1774 in Lyon into a devout bourgeois Catholic family. As a young woman she witnessed the horrors of the French Revolutionary Reign of Terror. In 1794, her two brothers — both counter-revolutionary fighters — were captured and guillotined. As they were led to execution, Louis Thévenet called out to his sister: Claudine, forgive as we forgive. These words shaped the rest of her life.
After the Revolution, Lyon — like much of France — was in social and religious ruins. Claudine worked with the Jesuit priest André Coindre to care for destitute and abandoned girls. In 1818, she founded a house to shelter and educate poor girls. From this beginning grew the congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary (known by the abbreviation RJM), which she formally established in 1818 and which received pontifical approval in 1847 (after her death).
The congregation's charism was the education of girls, particularly the poorest and most marginalized. It spread rapidly — to Spain, India, Canada, and beyond — and today operates schools and institutions in over thirty countries.
Claudine herself continued to suffer from ill health. She died in Lyon on February 3, 1837, at the age of 62.
Pope John Paul II beatified her during the Synod for the Family in 1981; he canonized her on March 21, 1993.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Lyon, Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Death location: Lyon, Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
Notable location: Her birthplace and the city where she founded the Religious of Jesus and Mary; the city where she witnessed the guillotining of her brothers during the Reign of Terror (Lyon, France)
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Feast day
February 3
Veneration
Saint Claudine Thévenet is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on February 3 (Optional Memorial).
Prayers
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