5 November Optional Memorial
On November 5, we celebrate the memory of Frances D’Amboise, once duchess of Brittany, who died as a Carmelite nun in Nantes, France. Her meeting with the prior general, John Soreth, and her subsequent efforts on behalf of the Carmelites had a transforming effect on Carmel in France. The Carmelite historian, Joachim Smet, calls it “one of those warm and human friendships between saints.” In fact, the establishment of enclosed Carmelite monasteries in France is generally attributed to her. She and her husband had already founded a monastery of Poor Clares in Nantes which she intended to join after the death of her husband. However, her health failed her. She considered devoting herself to the care of the poor in a hospital.
Frances received the Carmelite habit on March 25, 1468 from Bl. John Soreth. She insisted on being treated the same as any novice. Later, as prioress, Frances taught, “We are all sisters wearing the same habit and making the same profession. The Rule is not longer for one than for another.”
During the French Revolution the memory of Bl. Frances D’Amboise were dispersed, and her body was desecrated. Unfortunately, most of the instructions and exhortations she gave her nuns for their formation, like the one above, have been lost. The few fragments that remain reveal her to be a strong, loving, generous woman who was truly in love with God. She is depicted wearing an ermine cape* instead of the white wool cape of Carmel to recall her rank as duchess— iconography she herself would not have allowed.
* Portrait of Blessed Françoise d'Amboise - wearing the habit of a Carmelite nun and the crown and ermine cape signifying her rank as Duchess of Brittany.
