St Jane Frances co-founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, with St Francis de Sales. Previously a wife, mother, and widow, she brought many gifts to the new Community.

Of prayer, she wrote: ‘There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is’. This advice was exactly in line with her own prayer, for she endured many years of spiritual dryness.

In this country, the only Visitation monastery is in Waldron, East Sussex, and we pray for the Community there, for its life and witness. May God bless you this day.