February 4 Saint Joan of France, Religious PATRONESS OF THE CONGREGATION Memorial Joan of France (de Valois) was born on April 23, 1464. She was a daughter of the King of France Louis XI and of Charlotte of Savoy. Joan, deformed from birth, was despised by her father because of her infirmity and especially because he expected a son. Being only two months old, she was betrothed according to the custom of that time to the twoyear-old Duke of Orleans. As a young girl, she had a vision of Our Lady in which it was revealed to her that, before dying, she would found a religious community dedicated to giving honor to Our Blessed Mother. When Joan’s husband succeeded to the throne of France as Louis XII, she became a queen. However, soon after accession to the throne, the new king had their marriage annulled by the Holy See on the pretext that it was forced upon him and he then pensioned off his unwanted wife. Having lost the title of Queen of France in 1498, Joan received from her former spouse the title of the Duchess of Berry. Free at last, Joan devoted herself entirely to prayer and good works. With help from her spiritual director, Blessed Gilbert Nicholas (Gabriel-Maria), the Duchess of Berry proceeded, along with eleven other women, to establish a contemplative Order of the Virgin Mary, also known as the Order of the Annunciades. The Blessed Mother was to be the example for the nuns to follow, and Our Lady’s virtues, of which the Holy Scriptures speak, were to represent the rule of their life. The text of the Rule of the Ten Virtues was written by Gilbert Nicholas under Joan’s guidance in 1501. The Holy See approved the new Rule on February 12, 1502. Joan died on February 4, 1505, soon after making her religious profession. On June 18, 1742, Pope Benedict XIV declared her Blessed. She was officially canonized by Pope Pius XII in Rome in 1950. The great desire of St. Joan, which was unfulfilled during her lifetime, was to create a male branch of her Order. In a certain way, this desire was fulfilled 194 years after her death, when the Congregation of Marian Fathers officially received the Rule of the Ten Virtues adapted for a male community. For 210 years, the Marians professed their vows on that Rule until the renovation of the Congregation on November 28, 1910.
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