Margaret of Lorraine, Duchess of Alençon (1463 at the castle of Vaudémont,

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

– 2 November 1521 in

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

, Normandy) was a French

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

and a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

of the order of

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

(''Ordre des Clarisses''). She was beatified in 1921.

Life

Margaret was born in 1463 in Vaudémont Castle,

as the youngest daughter of

Frederick II, Count of Vaudémont Frederick (Ferry) II of Lorraine-Vaudémont ( – 31 August 1470) was a French nobleman. He was Count of Vaudémont and Lord of Joinville from 1458 to 1470. He is sometimes numbered Frederick V by continuity with the Dukes of Lorraine. Life ...

and Yolande d'Anjou. She lost her father when she was the age of seven, and was brought up at

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille ...

by her grandfather

René of Anjou René of Anjou ( it, Renato; oc, Rainièr; ca, Renat; 1409–1480) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442 (then deposed as the preceding dynasty was restored t ...

. When latter died in 1480, she was sent back to Lorraine to her brother, René II. He arranged her marriage to

René, Duke of Alençon René of Alençon (1454 – 1 November 1492) was a French nobleman. He succeeded his father John II of Alençon as Duke of Alençon. Life René was born in 1454 to the House of Valois-Alençon. He was the son of John II of Alençon and Marie o ...

, whom she wed in

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul ...

on 14 May 1488.Watkins, Basil. "Margaret of Lorraine (Bl)", ''The Book of Saints'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015
Alençon and Margaret had three children: * Charles IV of Alençon (1489–1525), married Marguerite of Angoulême as her first husband. *

Françoise of Alençon Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress * Françoise Adn ...

, Duchess of Beaumont (1490- 14 September 1550), married firstly in 1505, François, Duke of Longueville; married secondly in 1513,

Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, by whom she had thirteen children. * Anne, Lady of La Guerche (30 October 1492- 18 October 1562), married in 1508, William IX Palaeologos, Marquis of

Montferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, ...

by whom she had three children. Margaret died on November 2, 1521 in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

from natural causes. Almost 400 years after her death, she was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their n ...

on March 10, 1921 by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his deat ...

Widowhood

Left a widow in 1492, she busied herself in the administration of her duchy and the education of her children. When she was relieved of the duties imposed upon her by her position, she decided to renounce the world and retired to Mortagne, to a monastery of religious women who followed the rule of Saint Elizabeth. Later, having brought with her to Argentan some of these nuns, she founded there another monastery which she placed, with the authorization of the pope, under the rule of Saint Clare, modified by the Minor Observants.Clugnet, Léon. "Blessed Margaret of Lorraine." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 17 May 2018 She herself took the religious habit in this house and made her vows on 11 October 1520. On 2 November 1521, after having lived an austere life for a year, she died in her modest cell, at the age of fifty-eight. Her body, preserved in the monastery of the Poor Clares, and when that monastery was suppressed, was transferred to the church of Saint Germain d'Argentan. In 1793, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, it was profaned and thrown into the common burial place. The memory of Margaret of Lorraine is preserved in the '' Martyrologium franciscanum'' and in the ''Martyrologium gallicanum''. After an invitation made by the

bishop of Séez A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

, Jacques Camus de Pontcarré,

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

asked

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII ( la, Urbanus VIII; it, Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death in July 1644. As po ...

to order a canonical inquiry into the virtues and the miracles of the Duchess.

Ancestors

Notes

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret Of Lorraine 1463 births 1521 deaths French beatified people 16th-century venerated Christians House of Lorraine Duchesses of Alençon House of Valois-Alençon Poor Clares