Jeanne de Lestonnac

Joan of Lestonnac (married Jeanne de Montferrat, religious name Jeanne de St. Bernard, * December 27, 1556 in Bordeaux, † February 2nd, 1640 ibid ) was a French foundress. She is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

Life

Joan of Lestonnac was the daughter of Richard de Lestonnac Parliament Council; the family came from old French nobility. Michel de Montaigne was her uncle. Despite her mother, who had converted to Calvinism, Johanna finally accepted the Catholic faith. 1573 she married Gaston de Mont Ferrand, Baron de Landiras. With him she had seven children, of whom but three died in infancy. After the death of her husband Johanna went on a branch of the Cistercian reform in Toulouse and took the name of Jeanne de St. Bernard. The strict religious life she could not stand; she fell ill and left the monastery. With two Jesuits founded the Order " Filles de la Compagnie de Notre Dame" ( Daughters of the Society of Our Lady of Bordeaux). The Order, which was recognized in 1607 by Pope Paul V, dedicated to the education of young girls. Joan of Lestonnac became the first Superior. The order was dissolved during the French Revolution and revived in the 19th century. It was on 23 September 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. beatified on May 15, 1949 by Pope Pius XII. canonized.