Jeanne Le Ber
Encyclopedia
Jeanne Le Ber was a religious recluse
in New France
.
, Jeanne was raised within a wealthy and influential family; her mother was a sister of Charles le Moyne
. Jeanne Le Ber was baptized the day she was born by Gabriel Souart
, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
being her godfather and Jeanne Mance
her godmother.
She took an early interest in the spiritual life of the community and was a frequent visitor with her godmother, Jeanne Mance
at the Hôtel-Dieu
. She also had a friendship with Marguerite Bourgeoys
, the foundress of the Congregation of Notre Dame
, who influenced her spiritual life. To complete her formal education she spent three years, 1674 to 1677, as a boarder with the Ursulines of Quebec
where her aunt, Marie Le Ber de l’Annonciation, taught. At the age of 15, she returned to her family in Montreal
.
As the only daughter (she had three younger brothers) of Jacques le Ber
, with a dowry
of approximately 50,000 écus, she was rightly considered the most eligible girl in New France
.
and left only to attend daily Mass. When the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
decided to build a church on their property, Jeanne had a three-room apartment behind the altar built to her specifications, in return for a generous gift. Her amended vows, which covered perpetual seclusion, chastity, and poverty, had not caused her to divest herself of properties given to her by her family.
In November 1682 she refused to leave her cell to attend her dying mother and later refused to assume the management of the household for her widowed father. Her father, Jacques le Ber
, visited her twice a year. His request to be buried in the church of the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
to be near his daughter was granted, but Jeanne, to the disappointment of the curious, did not attend his funeral in 1706.
On 24 June 1685 she took a simple vow of perpetual seclusion, chastity, and poverty. Her spiritual directors, François Dollier de Casson
and Seguenot, encouraged her to continue her pious observances. Her poverty and seclusion, however, were somewhat tempered by the fact that, befitting her social rank, she retained throughout her years of withdrawal from the world an attendant, her cousin Anna Barroy, who saw to her physical requirements and accompanied her to mass.
She became a well-known person in the colony, and met with important visitors upon occasion. At her death the remainder of her estate was willed to the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
. In 1698, Bishop Saint-Vallier
, returning from France, accompanied two English gentlemen, one of them a Protestant minister, on a visit to her.
She attended to a number of business matters, for she had not felt obliged by her vows to divest herself of her property. She ceded the farm at Pointe Saint-Charles to the Hôpital Général of the Charon brothers. The land of the former farm is today on the Jeanne-Le Ber
federal electoral district. It was named for Jeanne Le Ber.
Before the Roman Catholic Church
would canonize Jeanne Le Ber, it required that her buried remains be confirmed as hers. As Le Ber led the life of a recluse, she did little else other than pray and sew vestments and altar clothes until her death in 1714. The Church asked a team that included forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs
to verify what were thought to be Le Ber's bones. The team found that the teeth were notched as if they had regularly bitten thread. The bones were marked by arthritis, as the knees of a person who often kneeled to pray might be. Other notable features agreed with Le Ber's known age, establishing the bones were indeed hers.
were founded in 1943, in Alberta
. Their inspiration is the Jeanne Le Ber.
In 2004, Jeanne-Le Ber
federal electoral district was named for Jeanne Le Ber.
Recluse
A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...
in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
Family and Education
As a daughter of Jeanne Le Moyne and Jacques le BerJacques Le Ber
Jacques Le Ber was a merchant and seigneur in Montreal, New France.- Biography :Jacques Le Ber was born in c. 1633 in the parish of Pistre, Diocese of Rouen, son of Robert Le Ber and Colette Cavelier. He came to Canada in 1657 from France as a soldier but was mainly a businessman after his arrival...
, Jeanne was raised within a wealthy and influential family; her mother was a sister of Charles le Moyne
Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay
Charles le Moyne de Longueuil et de Châteauguay ,as many people of his time, had a variety of occupations. Born in Dieppe, France in Normandy, he came to New France in 1641. He became lord of Longueuil in Canada....
. Jeanne Le Ber was baptized the day she was born by Gabriel Souart
Gabriel Souart
Abbé Gabriel Souart was a Recollet priest and the nephew of Father Joseph Le Caron. He is most often remembered in Canadian history as the first parish priest of Montreal....
, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve
Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve was a French military officer and the founder of Montreal.- Early career :...
being her godfather and Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance was a French settler of New France. She was one of the founders of Montreal who secured its survival and was the founder and head of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.-Origins:...
her godmother.
She took an early interest in the spiritual life of the community and was a frequent visitor with her godmother, Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance
Jeanne Mance was a French settler of New France. She was one of the founders of Montreal who secured its survival and was the founder and head of the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.-Origins:...
at the Hôtel-Dieu
Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal
The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal is the oldest hospital in Montreal, Quebec. Since 1996 it has been one of the three hospitals making up the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal ....
. She also had a friendship with Marguerite Bourgeoys
Marguerite Bourgeoys
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys was the founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame.- Biography :...
, the foundress of the Congregation of Notre Dame
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada. This was one of the first non-cloistered communities. The community's motherhouse has continued to be based in Montreal...
, who influenced her spiritual life. To complete her formal education she spent three years, 1674 to 1677, as a boarder with the Ursulines of Quebec
Ursulines of Quebec
The Ursuline Convent of Quebec City, , founded in 1639, is the oldest institution of learning for women in North America...
where her aunt, Marie Le Ber de l’Annonciation, taught. At the age of 15, she returned to her family in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
As the only daughter (she had three younger brothers) of Jacques le Ber
Jacques Le Ber
Jacques Le Ber was a merchant and seigneur in Montreal, New France.- Biography :Jacques Le Ber was born in c. 1633 in the parish of Pistre, Diocese of Rouen, son of Robert Le Ber and Colette Cavelier. He came to Canada in 1657 from France as a soldier but was mainly a businessman after his arrival...
, with a dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
of approximately 50,000 écus, she was rightly considered the most eligible girl in New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
.
The Reclusion
In 1679, events within her religious experience caused her to enter seclusion for a five-year period. She lived in a cell at the rear of the church of the Hôtel-DieuHôtel-Dieu de Montréal
The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal is the oldest hospital in Montreal, Quebec. Since 1996 it has been one of the three hospitals making up the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal ....
and left only to attend daily Mass. When the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada. This was one of the first non-cloistered communities. The community's motherhouse has continued to be based in Montreal...
decided to build a church on their property, Jeanne had a three-room apartment behind the altar built to her specifications, in return for a generous gift. Her amended vows, which covered perpetual seclusion, chastity, and poverty, had not caused her to divest herself of properties given to her by her family.
In November 1682 she refused to leave her cell to attend her dying mother and later refused to assume the management of the household for her widowed father. Her father, Jacques le Ber
Jacques Le Ber
Jacques Le Ber was a merchant and seigneur in Montreal, New France.- Biography :Jacques Le Ber was born in c. 1633 in the parish of Pistre, Diocese of Rouen, son of Robert Le Ber and Colette Cavelier. He came to Canada in 1657 from France as a soldier but was mainly a businessman after his arrival...
, visited her twice a year. His request to be buried in the church of the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada. This was one of the first non-cloistered communities. The community's motherhouse has continued to be based in Montreal...
to be near his daughter was granted, but Jeanne, to the disappointment of the curious, did not attend his funeral in 1706.
On 24 June 1685 she took a simple vow of perpetual seclusion, chastity, and poverty. Her spiritual directors, François Dollier de Casson
François Dollier de Casson
François Dollier de Casson was born in France into a wealthy bourgeois and military family. He began his adult life in the army which he left after three years to continue his studies and become a priest....
and Seguenot, encouraged her to continue her pious observances. Her poverty and seclusion, however, were somewhat tempered by the fact that, befitting her social rank, she retained throughout her years of withdrawal from the world an attendant, her cousin Anna Barroy, who saw to her physical requirements and accompanied her to mass.
She became a well-known person in the colony, and met with important visitors upon occasion. At her death the remainder of her estate was willed to the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
Congregation of Notre Dame
The Congregation of Notre Dame was founded in 1653 by Marguerite Bourgeoys in Montreal, Canada. This was one of the first non-cloistered communities. The community's motherhouse has continued to be based in Montreal...
. In 1698, Bishop Saint-Vallier
Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier
Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrière de St. Vallier was appointed to the see of Quebec as bishop in 1685 by Louis XIV. But, Blessed Pope Innocent XI was not granting any more bulls of investiture....
, returning from France, accompanied two English gentlemen, one of them a Protestant minister, on a visit to her.
She attended to a number of business matters, for she had not felt obliged by her vows to divest herself of her property. She ceded the farm at Pointe Saint-Charles to the Hôpital Général of the Charon brothers. The land of the former farm is today on the Jeanne-Le Ber
Jeanne-Le Ber
Jeanne-Le Ber is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 112,863.-Geography:...
federal electoral district. It was named for Jeanne Le Ber.
Before the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
would canonize Jeanne Le Ber, it required that her buried remains be confirmed as hers. As Le Ber led the life of a recluse, she did little else other than pray and sew vestments and altar clothes until her death in 1714. The Church asked a team that included forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs
Kathy Reichs
Kathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic . She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, but is currently on indefinite leave...
to verify what were thought to be Le Ber's bones. The team found that the teeth were notched as if they had regularly bitten thread. The bones were marked by arthritis, as the knees of a person who often kneeled to pray might be. Other notable features agreed with Le Ber's known age, establishing the bones were indeed hers.
Legacy
Recluse SistersRecluse Sisters
The Recluse Sisters are a Roman Catholic community of Religious Sisters who were founded in 1943, in Alberta, Canada, by Rita Renaud, Jeannette Roy and the Reverend Father Louis-Marie Parent, OMI, as Les Recluses Missionaires...
were founded in 1943, in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. Their inspiration is the Jeanne Le Ber.
In 2004, Jeanne-Le Ber
Jeanne-Le Ber
Jeanne-Le Ber is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 112,863.-Geography:...
federal electoral district was named for Jeanne Le Ber.