Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac

Jeanne de Lestonnac, ODN (December 27, 1556 – February 2, 1640), also known as Joan of Lestonnac, was a French Catholic nun who founded the Sisters of the Company of Mary, Our Lady in 1607. The institute, approved by Pope Paul V in 1607, was the first religious order of women-teachers approved by the Catholic Church. Lestonnac was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1949 and her feast day is May 15. De Lestonnac was born in Bordeaux in 1556 to Richard de Lestonnac, a member of the Parlement of Bordeaux, and Jeanne Eyquem, the sister of the noted philosopher, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne. She grew up in a time when the conflict between the Protestant reformists and the defenders of the Catholic faith was at its height. This was evident in her own family. While her mother became an enthusiastic Calvinist and tried to persuade her to convert, her father and her uncle Montaigne adhered to the Catholic faith and were her support in remaining a Catholic. At the age of 17 De Lestonnac married Gaston de Montferrant, with whom she had seven children, three of whom died in infancy. She was married for 24 years when her husband died. This marked the beginning of a very painful period in her life, with the further loss, within seven months, of her father, uncle and eldest son. Following her husband's death, Jeanne De Lestonnac, at the age of 46, and with her children now grown, turned to a contemplative life and entered the Cistercian Monastery in Toulouse where she was given the religious name of Jeanne of Saint Bernard. She found great peace and satisfaction in the monastic life, but, after six months, she became very ill and had to leave the monastery. She then went to live on her estate La Mothe Lusié to recover her health, and where she adopted the lifestyle of a secular dévote, performing many acts of charity, including food and alms distribution, and regularly met with young women of her social class to pray and discuss religious questions.