Born in 1666, in Anjou, France, Joan worked in the family business—a small shop near a religious shrine—from an early age. She has become known to be greed and insensitive to the poor. One day she was touched by the strange woman who claimed she was on intimate terms with the deity. Joan became a new person. She began caring for needy children. Then the poor, elderly, and sick came to her. Over time, she closed the family business so she could devote herself fully to good works and penance.
She went on to found what came to be known as the Congregation of Saint Anne of Providence. It was then she took the religious name of Joan of the Cross. By the time of her death in 1736 she had founded 12 religious houses, hospices, and schools. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1982.
