Jeanne-Elisabeth Bichier des Ages

The major work of Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges is the foundation, with Saint André-Hubert Fournet, of the congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, known as the Sisters of Saint-André. On February 2, 1807, the day of the Presentation of the Lord, the first five companions pronounced their vows in the oratory of the Château de Molante, before Father Fournet: they made a "vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience" and promised to "employ and devote themselves to the relief of the sick and the instruction of the poor." The new community thus combined religious life, home care for the sick, and the teaching of children in rural areas. In 1819, Élisabeth acquired a former Fontevrist priory in La Puye, where the sisters established themselves in 1820 and which became the motherhouse; the congregation received the approval of the Bishop of Poitiers, Msgr. Jean-Baptiste de Bouillé, on November 17, 1820. Having become Superior General, she proved to be an indefatigable organizer and builder: Pius XII would recall that "she improvised as a business manager, director of works." The institute experienced rapid expansion; at the death of the foundress in 1838, it numbered approximately six hundred religious sisters spread across nearly a hundred establishments in France.

The holiness of Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges is characterized by the harmonious union of the interior life and intense apostolic activity. The charism she transmits to her daughters is summarized in the motto 'Glorify God and make Him glorified by the little ones and the poor.' The cross, which gives its name to the congregation, is at the heart of her spirituality, marked by the Eucharistic spirit and love for the most destitute inherited from her spiritual master André-Hubert Fournet. Formed in the school of faithful priests during the revolutionary persecution, she combined deep piety with remarkable practical sense and courage. At the time of her canonization, Pope Pius XII hailed a figure in whom natural grace and the solidity of her formation were combined with a total gift: he evoked the one who, 'modest as a poor little Good Sister,' nevertheless appeared 'majestic as a queen,' and compared her to the great contemplative and active tradition of Teresa of Avila. Her reputation for holiness, vivid in Poitou during her lifetime, only grew after her death and led the Church to examine her cause.

The cause of Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges led to her beatification on May 13, 1934, by Pope Pius XI, who had shortly before, on June 4, 1933, raised her spiritual father and co-founder André-Hubert Fournet to the honors of the altar. The supreme recognition came under Pius XII: the founder of the Daughters of the Cross was canonized in Rome on July 6, 1947, during a ceremony that also raised the Béarnais priest Michel Garicoïts to sainthood. The following day, July 7, 1947, in an address to the pilgrims who had come for these two canonizations, Pius XII delivered a long eulogy of the new saint, praising her apostolate during the Revolution, where "she became the guardian angel and apostle of the hunted and persecuted faithful," and her genius as a founder. Her liturgical feast is set for August 26, the anniversary of her death. She is honored in particular in the dioceses of Poitiers and in the communities originating from her congregation.

The legacy of Saint Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges continues through the congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, Sisters of Saint Andrew, which she left firmly established in France at the time of her death. Approved by the Holy See during the pontificate of Pius IX, the congregation has spread far beyond Poitou: it is present today on three continents, in Europe (France, Italy, Spain), in the Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Canada), and in Africa (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast), faithful to its dual vocation of teaching and serving the sick and the poor. The motherhouse remains established in La Puye, in the Vienne department, where the foundress rests and where her memory is perpetuated. Several parishes and institutions bear her name, particularly in the diocese of Poitiers. A figure of the French Catholic revival in the aftermath of the Revolution, she is often associated with Saint André-Hubert Fournet, with whom her work forms a single chapter in the spiritual history of Poitou in the 19th century.