Francoise and Julie

Francoise’s early life & education (1756-1781)

• Francoise Blin de Bourdon was raised by her grandparents since her childhood. Her family was very respected landowners with an aristocratic lineage. By taking the responsibilities seriously, her family earned the loyalty of villagers during the hardest years of the French Revolution. In the year that Francoise was born, 1756, there were already signs of the revolutionary war to come. 
• There were various attempts to reform the French taxation system, but they were all unsuccessful. Controller-General Etienne de Silhouette attempted in 1759 to introduce a tax on items used like jewelry and carriages, items that only wealthy had. For doing this de Silhouette found himself unemployed. Later, A.R.J Turgot replaced the traditional corvee with property tax, payable by all the owners of the property, but similarly to de Silhouette, Turgot was unemployed. 
• Francoise’s own father was an “enlightened” nobleman. He had a passion for Voltaire, and Enlightenment advocate of human rights. During this time, the Age of Reason, many aristocrats considered themselves atheist and men of thought. Her father was good to his peasants, but he was still very attached to the idea that they were “his” peasants. 
• Francoise went to an elite boarding school which was run by the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey Saint Michel in the small town of Doullens. The school was based on the model of “formation of good wives and mothers.” During her time at boarding school Francoise learned practical skills and mental fortitude that aristocratic young ladies needed. When Francoise was not at school, she visited the villagers of Gezaincourt. During these visits, Francoise learned the way that most French people lived. When she started giving guidance to people that managed Sisters of Notre Dame schools, she emphasized the importance of good nutrition, like when she learned as a child. 
• de Merici, the foundress of the Ursuline order, believed that women should be free to choose virginity without disengaging from the world. It may sound weird now, but back then it was something very revolutionary. In the 16th century, sexuality was very controlled by men. de Merici challenged many status quos. After de Merici’s death, the Ursuline changed and started to be more controlled by the Catholic hierarchy. In 1768, when Francoise attended the Ursuline, the teachers were traditional nuns who helped the students recognize their own unique gifts and prepare them to lead lives of service as vowed nuns or as worldly wives and mothers. 

Julie’s early life & education (1751-17730

• Julie’s life was the opposite of Francoise’s. Julie’s life was less glamorous and she lived in a thatched-roof cottage in the village of Cuvilly. Her family didn't belong either to the First Estate, which is a Catholic clergy, and neither to the Second, which is the aristocracy. They belonged to the great mass of laborers, artisans, and shopkeepers that did the work of French society and paid most of its taxes. This is known as the Third Estate. The Third Estate owned very little land and had little influence on French politics, but they did have 98% of people who lived in pre-revolutionary France. 
• Julie’s father, who owned a shop and cloth for clothing, did own some land of his own. Having these assets put him as an average member of the Third Estate and could’ve been considered a member of the petit bourgeoise. Since Julie’s dad did have these assets, he was able to afford basic education for Juile. Secular education was seen as unnecessary, but a religious education was very important, especially to the mass of young poor in pre-revolutionary France.
• Within her village, Julie saw discrepancies that she wanted to fix. She went about giving lessons to other children that couldn’t go to schools from her own village. She believed that this was very unfair. Julie’s passion for helping children get an education, who couldn’t become something bigger for her in the future. 
• When Julie turned sixteen and Francoise was getting ready for her “coming out”, Julie’s father’s shop was robbed of its most valuable merchandise, which let Julie’s family in ruin. Because of this financial ruin, Julie had to take a job at a nearby farm. During this time, Julie experienced the reality that it is not only children who need to know things. Even after not going to school herself, she continued giving lessons to other children while working at the farm. 
• When Julie was in her 20s, and Francoise found herself with her parents, an anonymous gunman tried to take the life of Julie’s father. Her father survived, but just the stress of having to deal with this was very big.

Francoise’s 20s & Early 30s (1781-1794)

• When Francoise’s grandfather and maternal mother died, she had to step up and be in charge of running the estate herself. She followed her grandmother’s traditions of attending the needs of the villages herself. She paid special attention to their medical health and nutritional needs. This was the first time that Francoise was exposed to the realities of peasant life compared to her life. 

Julie’s 20s & Early 20s (1781-1794)

• During this time period, Julie was always in bed, but she still managed to find a way to help children with their first communions, which is important in the Catholic faith. Julie became known as the Saint of Cuvilly, because of her role in providing religious education. Although Julie was born to the Third Estate, by the time the revolution was bubbling over in 1789, she had some connections with both the First and the Second.

Julie & Francoise Meet in Amiens (1794)

• There isn’t a lot of information on the friendship of Julie and Francoise, but we know that their friendship developed during the Winter of 1794-95 while both were residents at the Blin home in Amiens. Madame Baudoin felt that both would benefit from each other’s company, so they started visiting each other. First Francoise was repulsed by the way that Julie looked, but as time developed they became good friends. In addition to Francoise, this group included Julie’s niece and caretaker Felicite, Madame Baudoin’s daughter Lise, and four of Lise’s friends. Over the course of the next ten years, this unique sense of mission gradually crystallized into the founding principles of a new order of nuns, the Sisters of Notre Dame, established by Julie and Francoise together on February 2, 1804.