What the Virgin Mary taught Saint Joan of Valois

Saint Joan of Valois (1464-1505) was the second daughter of King Louis XI, King of France, and Charlotte of Savoy. At the age of 12, she was married to Louis, the Duke of Orleans, who never accepted this forced union. When he acceded to the throne in 1498, he asked Rome to annul his marriage. Free from her conjugal obligations, Joan founded the Order of the Virgin Mary in Bourges. The Virgin Mary taught Joan three things to help her advance on the road of pleasing God and achieving union with Christ: listening to God's Word, meditating on the Passion of Christ, and loving the Eucharist. Joan's confessor reported that the Virgin also asked Joan to be a peacemaker where she lived; to be her advocate through her words and conversations; to seek to establish peace among the people who lived close to her; to not say anything else than words of peace; to be concerned for the salvation of souls; not to listen to gossip or slander; to forgive always; and to always excuse others. Doing all this would lead her on the road to Life.

Sister Marie Emmanuel Monastery of the Annonciade