The local population called Sister Jeanne-Antide and the members of her order the “[soup] broth and small schools sisters.” In the month of May the Church celebrates a remarkable French sister who dedicated herself to Christ by serving him in the poor.

After Jeanne lost her mother at the age of 16, she carried the heavy responsibility of caring for her younger siblings. Though her father wished for her to marry, Jeanne instead chose to enter the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. There, she was formed in the spirituality of St. Vincent de Paul, whom she considered to be her spiritual father.

With the Daughters of Charity, Sister Jeanne worked with the poor and in hospitals. Eventually she founded a school for poor girls as well as a soup kitchen. During the decade of the 1790s when France was thrust into revolution, Church property was confiscated, monasteries were dissolved and religious were ordered to return to secular life or face death. Sister Jeanne refused and was subsequently beaten by French authorities.

Eventually, however, she was forced to follow others into exile, heading first to Germany before settling in Switzerland. Even in exile in Switzerland, she opened a school and a hospital, and formed a congregation named the Institute of the Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul.

Sister Jeanne’s tireless commitment to serving the poor defined her life. Together with the women in her order she continued to open new schools and hospitals to care for the sick; she also worked with prisoners and organized the work they did so they could receive a salary. In 1810 she was called to oversee the Hospital for Incurables in Naples, Italy. A few years later, Pope Pius VII approved her community, and she was able to open more schools and convents in France, Italy and Switzerland.

Sister Jeanne-Antide died in 1826 and was canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI. Her order, now known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Jeanne-Antide Thouret, still operates today in 30 countries around the world.

St. Jeanne-Antide Thouret, pray for us!