St Joan

Joan was an ordinary woman who wanted to be very close to Jesus. She asked St. Simon Stock, a Carmelite priest, if she could join the order of Carmelites as a lay associate. That means that she didn’t become a nun, but she followed the rules of life of the Carmelite order. She was the first ever lay associate of the Carmelites. She lived in her own house and tried to live her life like the Carmelites did. She went to mass every day and she visited the poor or those that were sick or lonely. She taught the alter servers and helped those that were old, run their errands. She tried to bring joy to everyone that she helped. Joan carried a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross in her pocket wherever she went. She called this picture her book, because every time she would look at it, she felt that God was telling her something new. By her simple actions, she became a very holy woman.