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Sr Jeanne Baptiste de Bourbon-Vendôme

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Sr Jeanne Baptiste de Bourbon-Vendôme

Birth
Paris, City of Paris, Île-de-France, France
Death
16 Jan 1670 (aged 62)
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Departement de Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France
Burial
Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, Departement de Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire, France Add to Map
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Abbess. Born Jeanne Baptiste de Bourbon, the illegitimate daughter of Henri IV, Roi de France and his mistress Charlotte des Essarts, Comtesse de Romorantin. In May 1608 her birth was legitimized by the king. At the age of 19, she took vows and succeeded to the Abbess at the 500 year old Fontevraud Abbey, founded by Robert d'Arbrissel, which was then undergoing a strain as the monks of the double monastery, with separate convents for both monks and nuns, attempted to organize themselves independently of the supreme authority of the abbess. In 1638 she ordered the royal Plantagenet graves in the Anjou necropolis under the transept crossing of the Abbey church grouped in a single funeral monument. It is the resting-place of at least eight kings, princes, or princesses of England as well as containing urns holding the hearts of several other English royals. In 1641 she obtained royal letters quashing the claims of the fractious monks of Fontevraud uniting them under her authority. The following year her rule of the order was approved by Pope Sixtus IV. The Abbess then applied to Innocent X for the beatification of their founder Robert d'Arbrissel, her request was supported by Louis XIV and Henrietta of England. The attempt failed. She died in office at age 62.
Abbess. Born Jeanne Baptiste de Bourbon, the illegitimate daughter of Henri IV, Roi de France and his mistress Charlotte des Essarts, Comtesse de Romorantin. In May 1608 her birth was legitimized by the king. At the age of 19, she took vows and succeeded to the Abbess at the 500 year old Fontevraud Abbey, founded by Robert d'Arbrissel, which was then undergoing a strain as the monks of the double monastery, with separate convents for both monks and nuns, attempted to organize themselves independently of the supreme authority of the abbess. In 1638 she ordered the royal Plantagenet graves in the Anjou necropolis under the transept crossing of the Abbey church grouped in a single funeral monument. It is the resting-place of at least eight kings, princes, or princesses of England as well as containing urns holding the hearts of several other English royals. In 1641 she obtained royal letters quashing the claims of the fractious monks of Fontevraud uniting them under her authority. The following year her rule of the order was approved by Pope Sixtus IV. The Abbess then applied to Innocent X for the beatification of their founder Robert d'Arbrissel, her request was supported by Louis XIV and Henrietta of England. The attempt failed. She died in office at age 62.

Bio by: Iola

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