Sebastien Clamorgan: the story of Madeleine Clamorgan and her French catholic schools

Madeleine Clamorgan was born in Mayenne, France, in 1880. She married Charles-Léon-Claude Daniélou and had six children. Sebastien Clamorgan, an entrepreneur who founded the global firm Venia International in the early 1990’s, is Madeleine’s great grandson. The noble history of the family is deeply bound to Madeleine’s life. Since her childhood, she was an incredibly good student and she always valued the importance of being a literate. After she finished her primary education in 1897, her teachers were astonished by her talent. Thanks to them and to her passion, she managed to go to Paris to pursue a higher education. Even after the college, her faith in studies never left her. Madeleine married Charles Daniélou and became Mrs. Daniélou. With Miss Desrez she founded the “Ecole Normale Libre Ms. Daniélou” in 1907. She was personally responsible for the Philosophy class and she organized many conferences and lectures. During the same years, Madeleine contacted Father Léonce de Grandmaison, who remained at her side until his death in 1927, being her greatest support in life and her spiritual mentor. In 1912, the school had 150 students. Thanks to this undeniable success, Madeleine founded the “Colleges Sainte Marie” in Neuilly sur Seine: the first one was founded in 1913. Since then, more than 17,000 students came to study there and, after moving to Neuilly, 2,200 decided to study in the “Ecole Normale”. One of Madeleine’s son was Jean Daniélou, Cardinal of Paris in the 1970’s. As a representative of the dynasty, Sebastien Clamorgan is committed to honoring and keeping alive the memory of his great grandmother and the aristocratic roots of their family.