On May 5, 1864, Jeanne-Marie was born at Belle-Isle en Terre, France. Her parents were impoverished peasants. She was left to carry on the family's domestic duties after her mother passed away when she was still a young girl.

Adopting the name Marie Santa Natalia, she became a member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in 1887. She joyfully plunged into a life of devotion there. She was initially sent to Paris and afterwards to the North African city of Carthage.

After experiencing health issues, she was transported to Rome for recuperation. There, she heeded her Order's call to serve as a missionary. She was hospitalized for several months with typhus practically soon after arriving in China in March 1899.

Her brief career came to an end amid the Boxer Rebellion's crackdown on foreign missionaries. On July 9, 1900, at Taiyuan Fu, China, St. Jeanne - Marie Kerguin was beheaded. She was beatified on 24 November 1946 by Pope Pius XII and canonized on 1 October 2000 by Pope John Paul II in Rome.

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