Rosalie Rendu, DC (born Jeanne-Marie Rendu; 9 September 1786 – 7 February 1856) was a French Catholic member of the Daughters of Charity who organized care for the poor in the Paris slums during the Industrial Revolution. She was beatified in the Catholic Church in 2003.
Biography
She was born Jeanne-Marie Rendu on 9 September 1786, in Confort, France, not far from Geneva. The eldest of four girls, she came from a family of small property owners which enjoyed a certain affluence and respect throughout the area. She was baptized the day she was born in the parish church of Lancrans. Her godfather by proxy was Jacques Emery, a family friend and future superior general of the Sulpicians in Paris.
Rendu was three years old when the French Revolution broke out. Starting in 1790, it was compulsory for the clergy to take an oath of support for the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Numerous priests, faithful to the Catholic Church, refused to take this oath. They were driven from their parishes, with some being put to death and others having to hide to escape their pursuers. The Rendu family home became a refuge for these priests, some fleeing to Switzerland. The Bishop of Annecy found asylum there under the assumed name of Pierre. Jeanne-Marie was fascinated by this hired hand who was treated better than the others. One night she discovered that he was celebrating a Mass.
The death of her father, 12 May 1796, and that of her youngest sister, at four months of age, on 19 July of the same year, shook the entire family. Rendu, aware of her responsibility as the eldest, helped her mother, especially in caring for her younger sisters. Madame Rendu, concerned about the education of her eldest daughter, sent her to the Ursuline Sisters in Gex. Jeanne-Marie stayed two years in this boarding school. She was "highly intelligent" but her education was essentially practical. There she gained some experience in caring for the sick.
Daughter of Charity
Having decided to join the Daughters of Charity, on 25 May 1802, Rendu arrived at the motherhouse on the Rue du Vieux Colombier in Paris. She was nearly 16 years old. The reopening of the novitiate (suppressed by the revolutionaries) took place in December 1800. On their arrival, the travelers were welcomed by 50 young women in formation. Upon entering the community, she was given the name of Rosalie.
In the outbreaks which followed the Revolution of 1830 Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen of Paris and other clergy took shelter at the Rue de l'Épée de Bois. To assist all the suffering, Rendu opened a free clinic, a pharmacy, a school, a child and maternal care center, a youth club for young workers and a home for the elderly without resources. Soon a whole network of charitable services would be established to counter poverty.