SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES
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THE DAUGHTERS OF THE CROSS Madame de Villeneuve receiving the Rule from St. Francis de Sales; Diocese of Alexandria. Daughters of the Cross in Louisiana, 1855-1955. New Orleans: Pelican Publishing Company, 1955.
Rule of St. Francis de Sales; Madame de Villeneuve, Nee Marie L’Huillier d’Interville, Foundress and Teacher of the Society of the Cross (1597-1650)
16 THE CATHOLIC CONNECTION
THE YEAR IS 1618. A young woman of 21, trapped in a difficult marriage, hears a famous preacher is coming to a nearby church for a series of talks. Hoping to meet him and perhaps snag a chance for private counsel, she determines to go hear him speak. Accompanied by her sister, she enters the church and is enrapt and inspired by his words. Afterward, the two ladies muster their courage and introduce themselves, and both are privileged to gain an appointment. Over the course of the speaker’s stay in Paris, each sister finds solace and direction in repeated meetings with him - direction which will change the course of their lives. The speaker is Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, who has been persuaded to give the Lenten talks at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. The ladies are Madame Marie L’Huillier de Villeneuve and her sister, Helene Angelique. From the good bishop, Madame de Villeneuve receives confirmation and
