Julie Josephine Adelaide Tourneux de la Galaiserie was born on 16 November 1808 in
Piré-sur-Seiche, France. She was the seventh of eleven children born to Marie Rosalie Rubillon Du Lattay and Jean Baptiste Tourneux, three of whom died in childhood. Her oldest sister, Mary Rose, joined the
Sisters of Providence. Despite opposition from her parents, Tourneux joined the
Order of Our Lady of Charity in
Rennes in June 1829, where she took the religious name
Mary of St. Jerome. She took the
habit on 25 September 1829, and made her
vows on 13 October 1831. In 1845, she was sent to become
superior of the monastery of her order in
Blois, where her two predecessors had resigned due to community conflicts. She served there for two three-year terms before being recalled to Rennes. Torneux proceeded to found a third monastery in
Toronto in 1875. She originally intended to found a fourth in
St. Louis, Missouri, but disapproval from the local bishop led her to instead found it in
Green Bay, Wisconsin. Tourneux died of a stroke in 1896. == References ==