Woman Saint of the Day: St. Jeanne Delanoue, Entrepreneur
Jeanne Delanoue (1666-1736) foundress of the Congregation of St Anne of Providence Jeanne Delanoue was born at Samur in Anjoú, France on June 18, 1660. She was the youngest in a family of twelve and was described as self-centered, greedy, and ill-tempered as a child. Her parents owned a business and when her father died, she helped her mother run the store in order to maintain the family. When her mother died in 1691, Jeanne took over the business. Intelligent and hard-working, she made a success of the small business. Jeanne provided accommodations for pilgrims coming to the shrine of Our Lady of Ardillier. However, she caused great scandal by opening her shop on Sunday. Since her only interest was in making money off the pilgrims, she ignored what others thought and said about her. It was precisely at this time of great material success in her life, at the age of 27, shortly after the death of her mother, that two mystical experiences occurred, which...