2024 Core Leader Pilgrimage to France
Heritage Stories
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Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, SJ | Foundresses | Mother St. John | St. John Francis Regis, SJ | Le Puy
Meeting and Engaging our Leading Ladies
Statement below in Participant’s Journal
The purpose of this reflection is to meet the First Women of St. Joseph from whom we claim our CSSJ origins. What do we know of them? Very little, yet we can glean much from the spirituality and invitation given by Father Medaille. We have no actual photo of Fr. Medaille. We do have a painting from a sister’s imaginings from the 1800’s. Nor do we have an image of the first six women of St. Joseph. In an effort to give life to our first women, I have randomly selected portraits from 17th and 18th century art history to represent each of our founding women.
The following is taken from our Primitive Constitutions. We read: Sisters of St. Joseph trace their origin to and follow the spirit of the foundation made in Le Puy-en-Velay, France about 1650 by Jean Pierre Médaille, SJ, with Françoise Eyraud and her five women companions, under the pastoral care of Bishop Henri de Maupas. Dedicated to “the practice of all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy of which woman is capable and which will most benefit the dear neighbor.”
Lacer des Dames
by Mary Catherine Walton, SSJ
They were lace makers,
Pliers of the fine design of thread.
At night their heads would bend toward the light
Of a simple candle
While they spoke of ordinary things.
Could it be that their fingers quickly moved bobbins and pins
As they’d spin stories of the neighborhood?
They stood to influence others by the good deeds
And gentle boldness
That became their hallmark.
A spark of hope
These lace ladies were
For the poor ones
They befriended.
Leading Ladies of St. Joseph
Françoise Eyraud (1611-1683) is considered the first superior of the first Daughters of St. Joseph. She was probably born in the later months of 1611. She was the fourth of five children Pierre Eyraud and Izabeau Besqueut. “The Eyraud family was very old and enjoyed a certain prestige. They had a long history with the Hotel Dieu. The family Eyraud included persons of substance who exercised functions recognized in the city: “notary, lawyer, procurator, and merchants.” It was a family influential in number and service.
As a member of the upper class, she was able to read and write. Françoise came from St-Privat – d’ Allier and was most likely a member of the Company of the Blessed Sacrament, given to devotion and service. Records indicate that in 1645 or 1646 at approximately 35 years of age, Francoise became the head of the Hospital des Orphelines de Montferrand in Le Puy which was in the midst of complete reorganization. A hospital in the 17th century was a home for orphaned, displaced children as well as a refuge for the poor to find food and medicine. This was a position that paid modestly and provided housing. Directing the hospital required sacrifice and the skills to discern the human capacities and Christian values of those hired. She came from a long line of persons involved with the care of the poor.
She was 39 years old when she joined the new congregation. Church and city records note that she died at the age of 72 and was buried in the local Church.
Clauda Chastel (1612-1670?) Only a few records give information about Clauda Chastel. She was born in Langogne on April 20, 1612; and, she may have belonged to the well- known family of the Chastel de Congres or of the Chastel de Servieres. In 1647 she was a widow of the late Guilhaume Mazaudier of the city of Langongne, in the diocese of Mende. Her husband was a soldier killed in war.
The Chastel’s were known in Langogne as wealthy owners of a foundry producing iron or copper pots. Records suggest that the Chastel’s were of the privileged place in society. Of the six founding women, only Clauda was able to bring a dowry, and that, the considerable sum of 800 pounds. Sometime in 1662-63 she went with Marie Reboul to found a group to serve in a hospital in her native area of Yssingeaux. Her name appears second on the contract of association. According to house records, it seems that she died in Yssingeaux at an unknown date before 1670.
Marguerite Burdier (1626-1700) was born in St-Julien-en-Forez, and also known as St. Julien-Molin-Molette, a market town. At times the local church belonged to the Lyon Diocese and in other years it was part of the Vienne Dioceses. The parish-register states that Marguerite was baptized on October 23, 1626. She was the daughter of Guy Burdier and Marguerite de Plauder. Marguerite was the eldest of the four Burdier children listed in the parish records. Marguerite being the eldest. Marguerite kept in communication with her extended family. Having people of status and position in the family indicates that like the Eyraud’s and Chastels, the Burdier’s belonged to an upper level of society, influential and active in the third estate.
Marguerite was endowed with a strong personality and seems to have been the one of the original six with the greatest influence on the growth of the other houses. She was 24 years old at the time of the Act of Association in 1651.
In 1668, at the request of the archbishop of Vienne, Marguerite Burdier, having the title “Mother” was sent by the Bishop of Le Puy to establish a house of St. Joseph in Vienne. At that time, she took the name Jeanne, the name of her younger sister. She was instrumental in establishing numerous and important houses throughout the southeastern quarter of France. She died in the hospital of Vienne on February 12, 1700, at the age of 74. Sister Anne Felix, superior in Vienne at the time of Marguerite’s (Jeanne’s) death speaks glowingly and with great praise of her life and her character. “She always loved her state of life so much that she lived it in an exemplary way and worked unremittingly for the growth of her congregation.”
Anna Brun (1635-1685) came from St- Victor-Malescours in the diocese of Le Puy. At the time of the founding in 1650, she was about 15 years old. The lack of mention of her parents at the time of this commitment, despite her young age, could indicate that she came from the group of orphans at the Hospital in the rue de Montferrand. She brought no money, but only her work and her promise for the future. She succeeded Françoise Eyraud as superior of the House of St. Joseph, rue de Montferrand.
The only information known comes from the record of her death in the parish register of Saint Georges in Le Puy. She died January 25, 1685, aged about 50. She was buried in the church.
Anna Chalayer (1604-1694) came from St-Genest-Malifaux in the Lyon diocese. Born around 1604, Anna was 46 years old when she entered the new community. The only information known comes from the record of her death in the parish register of Saint Georges in Le Puy. Records show that she died on September 6, 1694, aged about 90. She was buried in the Chapel of St. Joseph. In her death notice she was called a “sister of the third order” – a rather mysterious designation and raises some questions as to the precise nature of her relationship to the community.
Anna Vey came from St-Jeures-de-Bonas of the Le Puy diocese. It is thought that she may have been born around 1636 or there about. There is no trace of her before or after the act of Association in 1650. We know only by means of a notarized act shows that her father, Jacque Vey promised to give 500 livers, a considerable dowry, if she joined the association and community. Since she could not speak for herself, it appears that she was a minor at the time of the Act of Association. Her name was never mentioned again after the initial incorporation.
Spiritual Guide and Mentor
Marguerite de St. Laurent was a spiritual and literate lay woman. In March 8, 1648, she arrived at the Hospital rue de Montferrand to help educate the girls. In the writings of a local citizen and friend of the sisters, Gabriel Lantheans, refers to Marguerite as the “superior” and to Francoise Eyraud as the “mistress of orphan girls.” He reported that Marguerite “made the holy foundation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1650 with the Reverend Father Medaille, SJ, who was her spiritual director. She followed him in his missions. Marguerite also known as “Margo” lived with the sisters at the Hospital for seven years, acted as a formation directress, guiding them in spiritual life. She never became a sister of St. Joseph. She retired to Saint Flour to live an eremitical life, sleeping on straw, living on bread and water, and writing incessantly…about the duties of ecclesiastics.
A Nod to Our Leading Men
Jean Pierre Médaille, SJ (1610-1669) born at Carcassonne, France, October 6, 1610, and died at the Jesuit College in Billom on December 30, 1669. Jean Pierre Médaille was a Jesuit missionary whose journeys took him through the towns and villages of south-central France in 1640-1669. Father Médaille founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph 1648 in Dunnier and in 1650 in LePuy, France, a congregation of women who should give themselves up wholly and unreservedly to all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The design of the congregation was based on the spirituality of the Society of Jesus. It seems that Dunnier was short lived since no further mention.
Henri de Maupas (1606-1680), Bishop of Le Puy, 1644 -1661 to whom Father Médaille, SJ presented the concept of the Sisters of St. Joseph as women devoted to God and the needs of the people. Educated by the Jesuits, Henri was a man of deep spirituality, very much influenced by Vincent de Paul and attended Vincent’s Tuesday Conferences for Priests begun in Le Puy in 1633. He also established the Sulpician Seminary in Le Puy.