Antonietta d'Orléans-Longueville

Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville (1572–24 April 1618) was a French noble lady, of Capetian ancestry, member of the house of Orléans-Longueville. She was Lady of Château-Gontier and, through her marriage, became the Marquise of Belle-Île. Widowed as a young woman, the wealthy lady became a nun and eventually founded the Benedictine order of Notre-Dame of Calvary in Paris.

Biography Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville was born in 1572 in Trie-Château (Oise) in northern France. Her father was Léonor d'Orléans-Longueville (1540–1573), Duke of Longueville and Estouteville, Count of Neuchatel, de Tancarville and Montgomery, baron de Varenguebec, lord of Trie-Château, peer of France, Grand Chamberlain of France, governor of Picardy, constable and chamberlain of Normandy. Her mother was Marie de Bourbon (1539–1601), Duchess of Estouteville, Countess of Saint-Pol, Countess of Gacé, of Hambye and of Bricquebec. She was also first cousin of the father of King Henri IV. Antoinette's parents had eight other children.

Marriage and children At the court of Henry III and the Valois, the young Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville stood out for her beauty, kindness and piety, which would become very important to her as she grew older. She was a maid of honor to Catherine de Medici, queen of France, who arranged her marriage at the age of 15 to a young marquis aged 18 of Italian origin, Charles de Gondi (son of Albert de Gondi). As the eldest child, Charles was the presumptive heir to the Duchy of Retz.

Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville, a grieving widow of 24, had her husband's body repatriated to Machecoul and organized a funeral worthy of his rank. While the ceremonies took place in Nantes, the young man's body was buried temporarily in Machecoul, in the Gondi family vault. Soon, Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville decided to found a monastery in Machecoul where the body was buried again, so "prayers would be held more specifically for the repose of her husband's soul, which would be laid there."

Her noble birth suggested to authorities that she was a potential abbess, but instead, she wanted to "forget her birth and all greatness." called the Congregation of the Benedictines of Notre-Dame of Calvary. There, she helped establish seven convents, including the Daughters of Calvary in Paris.

Death Antoinette d'Orléans-Longueville died from a form of lead poisoning at age 46 on 24 April 1618 in Poitiers.