Letter 997. To Monseigneur Sébastien Zamet

To Monseigneur Sébastien Zamet, Bishop of Langres. Annecy, 29 April [1630]. Vive > Jésus |! My very honoured Father,—Our sister who was Superior at Dijon! distinctly told me the answer you gave her in regard to her deposition and to the new election that must now take place in that monastery. Truly, I feel quite overwhelmed, though I praise God who has given you a heart of such incomparable humility. But I should have been very grateful had you acted quite independently of what I wrote or caused to be written in reference to the employment of this good Mother. I gave that opinion because you had told me that you thought it much better to send her on the foundation to Besancon than our sister the assistant, and likewise because I myself felt it best; for our sister the assistant did not seem to me to be capable of successfully taking the initial steps, and that in a town of such importance. It needs an experienced mother who could fittingly train the subjects that present themselves and establish the foundation. I hope in the goodness of Our Lord that she who is elected will give satisfaction. She governed well and usefully at Saint-Etienne for six years, and upon the two occasions that I have seen her in the exercise of her charge there was nothing with which to find fault, if not that she was a little too rigid—but I believe she has corrected herself of this. If, my dear Father, you will be so good as to speak to her and to our sisters, in private, in the parlour, you can easily amend any defect you perceive in her government. In the name of God I beg of you to do this, and you will, I am sure, have reason to rejoice in the good results of your assistance and fatherly direction, for I know they all have good hearts and are very keen for their perfection.

Some did not like the idea of our sister the assistant being Superior, but she is a soul in which I believe the Spirit of God reigns. They tell me that you were willing to see her in charge, but God having ordained otherwise, He will draw therefrom His own glory and the good of this dear family. Once more, my very dear Father, with all respect and sincerity I recommend this community to you, that it may preserve in its integrity and simplicity the spirit of its vocation. This sums up all my desire.

May the divine Saviour be glorified in and by us, according to His eternal designs. Praying His infinite goodness to perfect in your noble heart the work of His holy grace, I remain, etc.

P.S.—They tell me that you do not wish to make the canonical visitation. Eh, my God! have you no fear that if you, being, as you are, full of zeal for the glory of God, neglect so important an action, other bishops, taking you as a precedent, will do the same, and that by this negligence the poor religious houses will decline? My good and most good Father, pray no longer neglect this duty, and pardon my urging you on the point, But I come to you, as always, with my old and absolute trust in your kindness.¹

Footnotes

1. Mother Michel, when near the time of her leaving for Besangon, caused a new election to be made on April 7, which resulted in placing Mother Frangoise Jéronyme de Villette at the head of the community of Dijon. ↩