Claudine Thévenet
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Claudine Thévenet, RJM (30 March 1774 – 3 February 1837),
religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...
''Marie of Saint Ignatius'', was a French Catholic
religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and ...
and the founder of the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Thévenet witnessed the horrors of the French Revolution – she saw two of her brothers executed – and went on to cater to the needs of children while using her congregation to provide local girls with a religious education. Thévenet was beatified on 4 October 1981 and was later canonized as a saint on 21 March 1993.


Life

Claudine Thévenet was born in the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...
, on 30 March 1774, as the second of seven children. During her adolescence, Thévenet studied at the Saint-Pierre-les-Nonnains
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
. The French Revolution saw the destruction of the old government and the formation of a new one that soon led to a violent massacre in her hometown in which two of her brothers were guillotined in public on 5 January 1794. Her brothers died forgiving their killers and the pair beseeched their distraught sister to do the same; their final words to her were: "Forgive them as we forgive". Not long after this she began to work with working women in her town and soon came into contact with the priest André Coindre. Coindre was vicar of the Church of Saint-Bruno des Chartreux. In 1816, he had established the "Providence of St. Bruno", on the premises of the former Carthusian monastery. This was a charitable institution that sheltered orphans and the children of very poor families and provided room, board, religious instruction, and taught them a trade so that they could earn a living. Together with Coindre she formed a small group, the "Pious Union", an association for ladies and young women with the aim of working to raise and educate girls. In 1817, Coindre established the “Providence of the Sacred Heart”, which he organized for girls at the Carthusian site. He then entrusted its operation to the members of the Pious Union, which becomes known as the Association of the Sacred Heart. Thévenet was elected president. On one occasion Coindre found two shivering children and brought them to her, thus expanding their work to include caring for destitute children. On 6 October 1818 the Association became the Religious of Jesus and Mary dedicated to educating girls; the order was founded on the hill of Croix Rousse. Thévenet took a
religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...
, ''Mary of St. Ignatius'', and began to serve as the order's superior. In 1820, the community relocated to Fourviere. Her health started to decline in 1835 and she died at the beginning of 1837. The congregation received diocesan approval in Puy in 1823 and in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
in 1825. The order received pontifical approval on 31 December 1847 from
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
.


Sainthood

The canonization process commenced in France in an informative process that Cardinal Louis-Joseph Maurin inaugurated on 16 October 1926 and later closed on 7 September 1928. The introduction of the cause came on 20 November 1928 and she became titled as a
Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
. Historians approved the cause on 6 March 1968 while theologians questioned and approved all of her spiritual writings on 8 January 1970 while confirming them to be orthodox in nature and not in contradiction of official doctrine. Members of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...
and their consultants gathered and approved the cause on 19 July 1977 while the C.C.S. itself approved it on 13 December 1977. She was titled as
Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...
on 6 February 1978 after
Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...
approved her life of
heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...
.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
beatified Thévenet on 4 October 1981. The miracle needed for sainthood was investigated and then validated in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
on 15 March 1991 which allowed for a medical board to approve it on 30 January 1992 and theologians to do so as well on 22 May 1992; the C.C.S. did so also on 16 June 1992 allowing for the pope to issue his final approval of her miracle and canonization on 11 July 1992. John Paul II canonized her on 21 March 1993.


References


External links


Congrégation des Religieuses de Jésus-MarieReligious of Jesus and Mary USA-Haiti Province
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thevenet, Claudine 1774 births 1837 deaths 18th-century French people 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century French nuns Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Founders of Catholic religious communities French Roman Catholic saints People from Lyon