Foundresses Week

For Foundresses Week I went to Foundresses Fest. It was held today, Wednesday February 6th, and was in the quad from 11am to 2pm. This event was to celebrate, "our legacy with music, games, art & crafts, raffle prizes and a taco car". It started off with a prayer and then people could go to different tables that had different activities. There was one put on by student assembly and another by the Blood Drive and a few others. I learned a lot about our Foundresses from the reading Chapter 1: Julie Billiart and Francoise Blin de Bourdon. I found it very interesting to compare the lives of Julie Billiart and Francoise Blin de Boudon. Although, both of their lives were very different they were drawn together by a common purpose. I also liked how the reading about their lives related to this history class, because it explained the events of the French Revolution that affected the lives of our Foundresses. Francoise was from an aristocratic family and lived with her maternal grandparents on their Gezaincourt estate. Since Francoise was six years old, she had attended an elite boarding school run by the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey Saint Michel. This school was located in Doullens, close to her grandparents estate. With the help of her grandmother, Francoise was exposed to the life lived by the poor (who were the majority of the French population at the time). At twelve years old Francoise moved to the Uruline convent in Amiens to complete her education. After this, at the age of 16, Francoise returned home, to her parents estate at Bourdon to prepare for her debut in French society. She then lived the aristocratic life, all the while remembering the villagers she had visited as a child and how different their lives were. Julie Billiart's life was very different. She lived in the village of Cuvilly and she belonged to the Third Estate (the rest). Julie's father owned a draper's shop so he was able to afford a basic education for Julie. What she learned she relayed to the other children in the village who couldn't obtain even the basic amount of education. At 16, her father's shop was robbed, so Julie had to get a job to help her family. Then in her early 20's someone tried to kill Julie's father, putting even more stress on her. Because of this added stress the onset of a muscular disorder, most likely multiple sclerosis, occurred. Despite being bedridden and suffering from paralysis, Julie continued to teach. Once the French Revolution was at its peak both Francoise and Julie were threatened. Francoise for being an aristocrat and Julie for supporting some non-juring priests. This lead both the women to be taken to Amiens, where in the winter of 1794-1795 Francoise and Julie meet for the first time. Over time the women became friends and on February 2nd, 1804 Julie and Francoise founded the Sisters of Notre Dame. 

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