THÉVENET, CLAUDINE. — In religion Maria di s. Ignazio, foundress of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, born in Lyon on 30 March 1774, died at Fourvière (Lyon) on 13 February 1837.
After witnessing the death by guillotine of her two brothers and receiving from them the request that she forgive their executioners, she devoted herself to an intense life of works of charity and assistance, gathering around her several faithful collaborators. Together, on 31 July 1816, under the impulse of Abbé Coindre, they formed themselves into the Association of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary under the patronage of s. Ignatius of Loyola. The associates, meeting from time to time, divided the work into sections: a section for education, almsgiving, consolation of the sick, the edification of lukewarm Catholics and girls in danger, good reading, etc. Five years later the group was transformed into a new religious congregation, in the house at Fourvière, which continued the apostolate with greater energy, extending its scope through workshop-schools, hospices, boarding houses, and colleges. The foundress did not see the mustard seed grow into a great tree, for death overtook her while political wrongs were making the work of her fellow sisters more difficult. But the Institute soon spread throughout France and abroad, as well as in the mission territories. In 1901 the mother house moved to Rome.
(from La Serra di Dio Madre Maria S. Ignazio, Rome 1959, on the verso of the title page)
THÉVENET, CLAUDINE - Portrait with autograph signature.