May 23, 2010 / 03:09 am
On Sunday, May 23, the universal Church will celebrate the feast day of St. Jane Antide Thouret, a Sister of Charity who worked tirelessly for the faith amidst persecution during the French Revolution in the 18th century.
Jane was born in Sancy, France, in 1765 to a poor family and her mother died when she was 16 years old. The saint took on many family responsibilities until she joined the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris at the age of 22, working among the sick in various hospitals.
During the French Revolution, when many religious and priests were killed, she was ordered to return home to a secular life. Jane refused, and when she tried to escape the authorities, she was badly beaten.
St. Jane Antide Thouret finally returned to Sancy, where she cared for the sick and opened a small school for girls until she was forced to flee to Switzerland. She fled to Germany before returning again to Switzerland to found a school and hospital in 1799 and a congregation called the Institute of the Daughters of St. Vincent de Paul. The community eventually expanded into France and Italy.