St. Jane Frances de Chantal and Christophe de Rabutin-Chantal
(1572-1641 & d. 1601)
A Saint-Making Marriage Cut Short
Jeanne-Françoise Frémyot, later Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, co-founded the Visitation Order with St. Francis de Sales and was canonized in 1767. Her marriage to Baron Christophe de Rabutin-Chantal, though lasting only eight years, exemplified holy matrimony and formed her for her later sainthood.
Noble Love and Partnership
Born into nobility in Dijon in 1572, Jane was raised by her devoutly Catholic father after her mother died when she was eighteen months old. At twenty, she married Baron Christophe de Rabutin, also known as Baron de Chantal, who held feudal responsibilities for governing lands, collecting taxes, and providing military support to the king.
A witness during her canonization stated: “These two spouses provided a model of a genuinely holy marriage. They had between them one heart and one soul.”
Transforming Their Household
Prior to his marriage to Jane, the baron lived a disorderly life, leading to disorder among the castle staff. As the new baroness, Jane’s refined and orderly life led her to quickly restore order, to the delight of all the staff. She personally organized and supervised every detail of the estate, a method which not only brought the finances under control but won her employees’ hearts as well.
Jane also established daily Mass at the castle and gained a saintly reputation for her work among the sick and the poor, especially during the region’s times of famine.
Their Contributions to Marriage and Family Life
Spiritual Partnership: Jane’s influence transformed both household and husband, bringing order and holiness to their domestic life
Devotion During Separations: When Christophe was frequently summoned by the king for administrative and military tasks, Jane maintained a custom of dressing very modestly. When confronted, Jane would typically reply, “The eyes of the one whom I aim to please are very far away.”
Parental Dedication: She bore six children, three of whom survived into adulthood: Celse-Bégnine (1596-1633), Marie-Aimée (1598-1617), and Françoise (1599-1684)
Family Motto: “Virtus vulnere virescit – courage grows stronger with a wound.” This motto, which the Baron of Chantal displayed on his coat of arms, reached perhaps its maximum form of expression when the bonds of marriage united Jane to this noble family
Heroic Forgiveness
In 1601, Christophe was killed in a hunting accident. Before he died, her husband forgave the man who shot him, saying to the man, “Don’t commit the sin of hating yourself when you have done nothing wrong.” The heartbroken Jane, however, had to struggle with forgiveness for a long time.
Jane’s journey to forgiveness became legendary: At first she tried just greeting him on the street. When she was able to do that, she invited him to her house. Finally she was able to forgive the man so completely that she even became godmother to his child.
Foundation for Sainthood
During her prolonged period of mourning, Madame de Chantal made a private vow to God that she would remain celibate during the remainder of her life and that, once her children were sufficiently old, she would devote herself to works of charity.
Her marriage, though brief, prepared her for her later spiritual motherhood. After meeting St. Francis de Sales in 1604, she co-founded the Visitation Order, which accepted women who were rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. When people criticized her, Chantal famously said, “What do you want me to do? I like sick people myself; I’m on their side”.
Lasting Legacy
Jane’s marriage to Christophe demonstrates how a holy marriage, even when cut short, can form saints and influence generations. Her widowhood became a pathway to founding a religious order that by 1767, when she was canonized, had 164 houses. Her famous granddaughter, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, became one of France’s greatest letter writers, showing how holiness in marriage can influence family lines for centuries.
