On 27 November 1765, Jeanne-Antide Thouret was born in Sancey-le-Long. She was the founder of the Sisters of Charity, who bear her name. This year, 2025-2026, the commemoration of her birth falls within the Bicentennial Year of her death in Naples in 1826.

From the Circular Letter of the Superior General, Mother Maria Rosa, for the opening of the Bicentennial

‘A time to remember, deepen and make known the witness of faith of Saint Jeanne Antide Thouret,

as Pius XI defined her: ’Tireless servant of Charity”.

Like every anniversary, this commemoration is intended to be an opportunity for all of us who, looking to the past, want to strengthen our hope in our future, pausing for a moment to evaluate our lives and our service. So that, in listening to the Lord and Saint Giovanna Antida, we may

find the energy to renew ourselves interiorly and live our mission with greater apostolic fruitfulness.

But in order for this Bicentennial to be not only a remembrance of an event in the past, but also an impetus of hope in the present, I invite every community, the Friends of the AJA Groups, lay groups, and young people

to give life to initiatives and projects of Charity with the poor, wherever we are.

I would call these initiatives ‘Steps of Hope,’ as they are based on fraternity and peace and develop with a view to the common good, which is based on social and ecological justice. These charitable projects will form a network, creating relationships of trust and hope; initiatives and projects that will release energy for life. I am certain that with the poor as the main actors in these initiatives, we will do ‘great things.’

In Naples, Regina Coeli,

the Solemn Eucharistic Concelebration for the opening of the Bicentennial Year took place.

Presiding over the celebration was Monsignor Salvatore Pennacchio, a former pupil of the Sisters of Charity, former Apostolic Nuncio and current President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

The meeting represented not only an act of gratitude for the life and work of Saint Jeanne-Antide, but also a sign of continuity between past and present: a bridge between the spirituality of yesterday and the educational and social mission that continues today in the heart of the city of Naples.