Joan of France, Duchess of Berry
| Saint Joan of Valois, O.Ann.M. | |
|---|---|
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| Nun and religious foundress | |
| Born |
23 April 1464 Nogent-le-Roi, County of Dreux |
| Died | 4 February 1505 (aged 40) Bourges, Duchy of Berry |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church (Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary) |
| Beatified | 18 June 1742, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Benedict XIV |
| Canonized | 28 May 1950, Vatican City, by Pope Pius XII |
| Feast | 4 February |
| Attributes | crowned Annonciade abbess, usually with cross and rosary, or holding the hand of the Christ Child, who is holding a basket; Annonciade abbess with basket of bread and cup of wine; with Father Gabriel Mary; having a ring placed on her finger by the Christ Child |
Joan of France (French: Jeanne de France, Jeanne de Valois; 23 April 1464 – 4 February 1505), was briefly Queen of France as wife of King Louis XII, in between the death of her brother, King Charles VIII, and the annulment of her marriage. After that, she retired to her domain, where she soon founded the monastic Order of the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary. From this Order later sprang the religious congregation of the Apostolic Sisters of the Annunciation, founded in 1787 to teach the children of the poor. She was canonized on 28 May 1950 and is known in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Joan of Valois, O.Ann.M..
Joan was born on 23 April 1464 in the castle of , a trusted supporter of her grandfather, King Charles VII of France, at Nogent-le-Roi in the County of Dreux. She was the second daughter of King Louis XI of France and of his second wife Charlotte of Savoy; her surviving siblings were King Charles VIII of France and Anne of France. Shortly after her birth, the king signed an agreement to marry her to his second cousin Louis, the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII of France, who was aged two at the time. Jeanne was born sickly and deformed. In Women Saints – Lives of Faith and Courage, Kathleen Jones says that Jeanne had a hump on her back and walked with a limp, suggesting that she had curvature of the spine.
Often away on royal duties, King Louis entrusted his daughters, Joan and Anne, to the Baron François de Linières and his wife, Anne de Culan. The couple, who were childless, lavished affection on Joan. Taking charge of her education, they had her taught both poetry and mathematics, painting, embroidery and how to play the lute.
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