About Our Foundress - St. Claudine Thevenet

Our Mission is to make GOD’S MERCIFUL GOODNESS AND FORGIVENESS known. according to the Charism of Our Foundress, St. Claudine Thevenet.

WHO WAS CLAUDINE THEVENET?

(1774-1837)

The Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary was founded by  a French woman- Claudine Thevenet who received a special charismatic grace from God. Her mission was born in a heart crushed by the pain of personal tragedy during the French Revolution. Her brothers were killed before her very eyes and her family was scattered. Claudine was then 19 years of age and this event was a decisive turning point in her life. She realized the power and necessity of mercy, pardon and forgiveness for her brother’s murderers.

Witnessing the aftermath of the Revolution, she concluded that all the violence, was due more to ignorance of God than malice. The thought of those who lived and died without knowing God, haunted her and caused her anguish. Far from closing in upon herself in suffering, she opened her heart to the miseries of the people around her.

God works in wondrous ways to bring about His plan in our lives. He was going to use her for His purpose. So led by the Spirit, Claudine opened her home to welcome two abandoned little children.. cold, hungry and homeless-a door which would never close. Many young children would later, find shelter and security in the many homes she opened. Over the years, several like-minded ladies joined her in this work of caring for abandoned little children and formed themselves into a community dedicated to this work of educating and caring for the poor all over the world, known today as the Sisters of Jesus and Mary.

Claudine believed that God was calling her to sacrifice herself for his needy children and she responded with great love to a total commitment of herself to His will. She trusted Him in all things and depended on his mercy and compassion which would lead her along the path He had chosen for her. Thus a Religious family was born in the Church as a tiny seed, which took root and grew to be a mighty oak, spreading its branches far and wide. This then, was the “Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary” founded by St. Claudine Thevenet. At the end of her life on her death bed, Claudine breathed her last words: “How good God is!”

CLAUDINE’S IDEAL 

Claudine’s ideal was to make God known and loved through Christian education of the young of all social classes. This ideal remains the aim of the Congregation inherited from the Foundress to have a preference for the Young and the Poor.

Through her work with the young, Claudine wished to form…..

  • Children with FAITH in God, in themselves and in others.
  • Women, capable of being good WIVES and Mothers and of creating happy HOMES.
  • Children, whose very PRESENCE anywhere would exude GOODNESS and touch other lives.
  • Children CAPABLE OF EARNING LIVING by honest and hard work.

Claudine desired her Sisters and Lay COLLABORATORS…. 

  • To be a living WITNESS in their own lives of the values they teach.
  • To be completely dedicated to the young and to be REAL MOTHERS to them.
  • To have FORESIGHT and TTHOROUGHNESS in preparing and carrying out their duties.
  • To be IMPARTIAL
  • To have great SIMPLICITY in doing things to please God.
  • To be COURTEOUS, but without any affectation, in their manner, tone of voice, posture and behaviour.
  • To be CLEAN and ORDERLY in their work and in their personal appearance.

CLAUDINE’S PEDAGOGY 

Claudine’s perceived that her Mission was Education, with a clear preference for the young and among them the most unfortunate. Her pedagogy was based on love, goodness, prevention, attention to each person, and marked with a family spirit. Going beyond the style and manner of expression belonging to a period in history, we can easily see the relevancy of the pedagogy of Claudine-an Educator by Vocation. 

Claudine exercised a PEDAGOGY OF LOVE- a love that she drew form the Heart of Jesus pierced on the Cross when He died to save the world.

Since the finest method of education as in the time of Claudine affects nothing without love, work of EDUCATION IN LOVE remains the best reform we can offer.

Her PEDAGOGY OF LOVE is for all times. It can be applied to the children of any generation. “The finest methods affect nothing without love.”

Her pedagogy was therefore PREVENTATIVE because there is a greater delicacy of love implied in removing the obstacles which could cause a fall than merely to heal the wounds.

Her pedagogy included ATTENTION TO THE INDIVIDUAL like that of the good shepherd(Jesus) who knows each one of his sheep by name.

It was a pedagogy of PARTICIPATION AND COLLABORATION because love cannot develop except in a united school community where sharing and real communication are lived.

Her pedagogy was concerned with GIVING A PRACTICAL FORMATION because love is not content with only seeing what is needed but wants also provide the means to bring a definitive remedy.

Her pedagogy was concerned with GIVING A PRACTICAL FORMATION because love is not content with only seeing what is needed but wants also to provide the means to bring a definitive remedy.

Her pedagogy was BASED ON SIMPLICITY AND A FAMILY SPIRIT because everything is made simple for the one who loves.

A stimulating pedagogy for GIVING EACH ONE THE TASTE FOR GOING BEYOND SELF, FOR MAKING A REALITY OF THE DREAM WHICH GOD HAS FOR EACH ONE OF HIS CHILDREN. (M.de la Paloma Alvarez rjm – Rome 1982)

We believe that each person is a special child of God, and so we provide the students an opportunity to learn and to grow in a God-centred environment of prayer and love, making them God-loving and other-centred human beings. All our activities thus, will be geared to the Educational, Spiritual, Moral, Physical and Emotional development of our students.

 

Characteristics of Claudine Thevenet’s Apostolic / Educational style: THE 6 P’s. Which we follow at Convent of Jesus and Mary International School

  • Personal
  • Practical
  • Preventive
  • Preferential
  • Providential
  • Partnership in Pardoning

Foundress of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary St. Claudine Thevenet (1774 -1837)