Saint of the Day - St. John Eudes (August 19th)
Channel: House of Prayers for Everyone (HOPE)
Date: 18/08/2023

In today's video, we feature St. John Eudes - a French missionary and the founder of both the Order of Our Lady of Charity and the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.

St. John was born in Ri, France on November 14th, 1601.  At the age of fourteen, he took a vow of chastity and since the time he was a child he tried to live in imitation of the Lord Jesus. 

John studied under the Jesuits at Caen before he decided to join the Oratorians on March 25th, 1623. As a student, he became a member of the French school that promoted a Christocentric approach to spiritual affairs. This was characterized by a strong sense of adoration, plus the pursuit of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ which extended to the Holy Spirit. 

John was ordained to the priesthood on December 20th, 1624 at the age of 24, and then celebrated his first Mass at Christmas. However, immediately after his ordination, he came down with an illness that kept him bedridden until 1626.

During the severe plagues in 1627 and 1631, he volunteered to care for the stricken in his own diocese, administering the sacraments and ensuring the dead received a proper burial. 

In 1633, he began preaching parish missions, eventually preaching over a hundred missions throughout his own region, as well as in Ile-de-France and Burgundy, and also in Brittany. John became a noted preacher and confessor with a flair for evangelization and his missions often lasted from several weeks to several months; he preached in Paris, Versailles, and Austria.

In 1641, he founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, to provide a refuge for prostitutes who wished to do penance.

He was also instrumental in encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Heart of Mary. Thus in 1643, he founded the Society of Jesus and Mary for the education of priests and for missionary work.

In 1674, he received six papal bulls of indulgences from Pope Clement X for confraternities and seminaries dedicated to the Sacred Hearts.

In April 1671, John's health started to decline, thus, he drafted up his last will. He died at Caen, on August 19th, 1680.

His canonization commenced in the Diocese of Séez on the 19th of August 1868. The formal introduction to the cause giving John the title "Servant of God" was introduced by Pope Pius IX in February 1874. 

Pope Leo XIII later confirmed on January 6th, 1903 that John had lived a life of heroic virtue and thus named him as Venerable. Pope Pius X later approved two miracles attributed to John's intercession and beatified him on April 25th, 1909 in Saint Peter's Basilica. The ratification of two more miracles enabled Pope Pius XI to preside over John's canonization on May 31st, 1925.


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Images attributed to the following:
- By Silvio Silva - www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Statues/Founders/JohnEudes/John%20Eudes.htm, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By Unknown author - Unknown source, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
- By This file was uploaded with Commonist. - carte postale ancienne, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons