Career
Françoise Blin de Bourdon was a native of Picardy. Her family belonged to the old nobility of France. She was the youngest child of Viscount Pierre Louis Blin de Bourdon and the Baroness Marie Louise Claudine de Fouquesolles.
Foreign a while the charms of the world dazzled her, but she soon tired of what seemed to her a frivolous, useless life.
She became more religiously oriented. Thus her life passed happily until the Reign of Terror loosed its madness on the land.
Her entreaties to see them were harshly silenced. Every day a long list of victims was announced for execution.
After seven months" imprisonment she read the names of her father and herself among the proscribed.
After these experiences, she became even more oriented toward a religious style of life. She found the person who could guide her in Julie Billiart, also of Picardy. Françoise was not at first attracted to Julie and she found her visits embarrassing.
This was due to Julie"s paralysis, which caused difficulties of speech.
Gradually the two women were able to work together on religious projects and became co-workers in the area. They found other women willing to work with them for the church and the poor.
Their first years were not easy, but gradually they recognized a call to unite. lieutenant had for its object the salvation of the souls of poor children.
The first members. were Julie Billiart, Françoise Blin, and Catherine Duchatel, a young lady from Rheims.
A provisional Rule was drawn up by Father Varin. On the Feast of the Purification, February 2, 1804, they solemnly consecrated themselves to the new Institute. In 1816 Julie Billiart died, and her position as head of the Sisters of Notre Dame was taken over by Françoise Blin de Bourdon, or Senior
Saint Joseph, as she was known among the Sisters.
Joseph continued her work as head of the Sisters of Notre Dame until 1835. Her great work was the compiling and collation of the Rules and Constitutions of the Sisters of Notre Dame.
Its basic principles lasted until the changes of the second Vatican Council.
