Saint Jeanne Delanoue
Saint Jeanne Delanoue (born June 18, 1666 AD in Saumur, Anjou, France; died August 17, 1736 AD in Saumur, France) was a French founder of the Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence — a congregation dedicated to the care of the destitute poor. Initially a hard-nosed shopkeeper focused on business, she underwent a dramatic spiritual conversion in her mid-thirties and spent the rest of her life opening her home, and then multiple houses, to the utterly destitute. She was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1982. Her feast day is August 17.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Jeanne Delanoue
| Saint Jeanne Delanoue | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | August 17 |
| Profession | Founder; shopkeeper (before conversion); lay and then religious charitable worker |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence (founder); apostle of the destitute poor in Anjou |
| Patronage | Saumur; Anjou; the destitute poor; founders of charitable works; dramatic converts; those who serve the homeless |
| Attributes | Religious habit; the very poor (her charges); begging bowl (she begged to feed them); plank bed (her austerity); crucifix |
| Birthplace | Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Anjou, France |
| Death Place | Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; died in Saumur, August 17, 1736, aged 70 |
| Primary Shrine | Motherhouse of the Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence, Saumur, France — associated with her life and death; center of devotion to her |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman Calendar; feast August 17; observed in France and within the Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence |
| Historic Class | Not in universal 1962 calendar |
Biography
Jeanne Delanoue was born on June 18, 1666 in Saumur, the twelfth of twelve children of a shopkeeper. After her parents' deaths she ran the family religious goods shop. She was known as a businesswoman who counted every penny, kept her shop open on Sundays, and cared primarily for profit.
Around 1693, in her late twenties, she began to encounter the poor in a new way — particularly through the influence of a devout widow, Françoise Souchet, who lived near Saumur and practiced extreme charity. Over the next few years Jeanne underwent a progressive spiritual transformation. She began giving away her goods, taking in the destitute, and spending her money on the poor rather than the shop. By 1698 she had converted her shop into a refuge for the poor.
She opened her house to any destitute person who came — orphans, the elderly, the sick, the insane, wanderers. She begged from door to door to feed them. She lived in the same poverty as her charges: sleeping on a wooden plank, wearing rough clothes. By 1704 she had gathered a small group of companions and founded the Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence.
She died in Saumur on August 17, 1736. Pope Pius XII beatified her in 1947; Pope Paul VI canonized her on October 31, 1982.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Anjou, France
Death location: Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France
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Feast day
August 17
Veneration
Saint Jeanne Delanoue is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on August 17, observed in France and within the Sisters of Saint Anne of Providence.
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