Founding of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
I truly enjoyed reading about Notre Dame's Foundresses. It was very interesting to read about both Francoise Blin de Bourbon and Julie Billart. It's amazing to me how these two women lives were completely different but at the end of the day that difference didn't matter because the two women ended up developing a deep bond of mutual support and friendship. I found it to be very special that till this day their "loving mutuality of spiritual friendship continues to evolve today in response to the realities of the 21st century, acting as an energizing force in the lives and work of the SNDs throughout the world. I definitely admire both sister for not letting their struggles affect the vision and plan they had for the SNDs.
Francoise Blin de Bourdon was born in 1756 to an aristocratic family in Gezaincourt, France. Francoise had a very different upbringing than most aristocratic people, from the time she was an infant she was raised by her maternal grandparents. By the time she was 25 she had done more than most girls would have imagined, but thought they were lacking. When she was a young girl and not in school, she would do runs around the village with her grandmother visiting villagers in their homes. They made sure that the people that were working on their land were well taken care of. She was definitely privileged and got to do some amazing things like attending parties at the Kings "country palace" of Versailles, eat the best food from the best chefs France had to offer but while doing all this things she would remember the the villagers she would visit in her town of Gezaincourt. It was becoming clear that Francoise wanted a different life than the life that was supposed to be inherited.
Like I mentioned in the beginning the lives of the two women are complete opposites. Julie was "raised in a small, thatched-roof cottage in the village of Cuvilly". There was nothing aristocratic about Julie's family or upbringing she came from a family of laborers "The Third Estate" as they mention in the reading. As a young girl Julie quickly realized that the status quo was unfair, and even had a reputation for bringing lessons to children of the village who were unable to attend school. Her lessons emphasized catechism, which was considered the most important part of a poor child's education. During this time period education was something that was seen as unnecessary, but religious education was definitely a critical part of children's lives and learning. At the young age of 22 Julie had a disease which would now be known as multiple sclerosis and she was completely bedridden. Being bedridden didn't stop her from teaching and preparing children for their first communion, and important rite of passages of the Catholic faith.
The paths of these two women crossed during the Winter of 1794-95 when Madame Baudoin felt they'd benefit from each others company. Their friendship flourished to something that I'm sure Francoise didn't expect since she was repulsed by the physical aspects of Julie's disability. During the course of their friendship a unique sense of mission gradually crystalized into the founding principles of a new order of nuns...
The Sisters of Notre Dame, established by Julie & Francoise together on February 2, 1804.
Francoise Blin de Bourdon was born in 1756 to an aristocratic family in Gezaincourt, France. Francoise had a very different upbringing than most aristocratic people, from the time she was an infant she was raised by her maternal grandparents. By the time she was 25 she had done more than most girls would have imagined, but thought they were lacking. When she was a young girl and not in school, she would do runs around the village with her grandmother visiting villagers in their homes. They made sure that the people that were working on their land were well taken care of. She was definitely privileged and got to do some amazing things like attending parties at the Kings "country palace" of Versailles, eat the best food from the best chefs France had to offer but while doing all this things she would remember the the villagers she would visit in her town of Gezaincourt. It was becoming clear that Francoise wanted a different life than the life that was supposed to be inherited.
Like I mentioned in the beginning the lives of the two women are complete opposites. Julie was "raised in a small, thatched-roof cottage in the village of Cuvilly". There was nothing aristocratic about Julie's family or upbringing she came from a family of laborers "The Third Estate" as they mention in the reading. As a young girl Julie quickly realized that the status quo was unfair, and even had a reputation for bringing lessons to children of the village who were unable to attend school. Her lessons emphasized catechism, which was considered the most important part of a poor child's education. During this time period education was something that was seen as unnecessary, but religious education was definitely a critical part of children's lives and learning. At the young age of 22 Julie had a disease which would now be known as multiple sclerosis and she was completely bedridden. Being bedridden didn't stop her from teaching and preparing children for their first communion, and important rite of passages of the Catholic faith.
The paths of these two women crossed during the Winter of 1794-95 when Madame Baudoin felt they'd benefit from each others company. Their friendship flourished to something that I'm sure Francoise didn't expect since she was repulsed by the physical aspects of Julie's disability. During the course of their friendship a unique sense of mission gradually crystalized into the founding principles of a new order of nuns...
The Sisters of Notre Dame, established by Julie & Francoise together on February 2, 1804.
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