St. John Eudes
1601 - 1680
John Eudes was born at Ri, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1601, the son of a farmer. He went to the Jesuit college at Caen when he was 14, and despite his parents' wish that he marry, joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France in 1623. He studied at Paris and at Aubervilliers, was ordained in 1625, and worked as a volunteer, caring for the victims of the plagues that struck Normandy in 1625 and 1631, and spent the next decade giving Missions, building a reputation as an outstanding preacher and confessor and for his opposition to Jansenism. He became interested in helping fallen women, and in 1641, with Madeleine Lamy, founded a refuge for them in Caen under the direction of the Visitandines. He resigned from the Oratorians in 1643 and founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists) at Caen, composed of secular priests not bound by vows but dedicated to upgrading the clergy by establishing effective seminaries and to preaching missions. His foundation was opposed by the Oratorians and the Jansenists, and he was unable to obtain Papal approval for it, but in 1650, the Bishop of Coutances invited him to establish a seminary in that diocese. The same year the sisters at his refuge in Caen left the Visitandines and were recognized by the Bishop of Bayeux as a new congregation under the name of Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge.
John founded seminaries at Lisieux in 1653 and Rouen in 1659 and was unsuccessful in another attempt to secure Papal approval of his congregation, but in 1666 the Refuge sisters received Pope Alexander III's approval as an institute to reclaim and care for penitent wayward women. John continued giving missions and established new seminaries at Evreux in 1666 and Rennes in 1670. He shared with St. Mary Margaret Alacoque the honor of initiating devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (he composed the Mass for the Sacred Heart in 1668) and the Holy Heart of Mary, popularizing the devotions with his "The Devotion to the Adorable Heart of Jesus" (1670) and "The Admirable Heart of the Most Holy Mother of God", which he finished a month before his death at Caen on August 19th. He was canonized in 1925. His feast day is August 19th.
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As I am on the process of vocation discernment here at St. John Eudes Seminary, Quezon City Philippines, I ask for the powerful intercession of St. John Eudes, that God will grant my heart's desire to serve him and that I will be given the chance and opportunity to be a future seminarian of the Eudist community.
St. John Eudes...pray for us
Dear Saint Jean Eudes please pray that Jacob finds the right path and that his parents finds the strenght and wisdom to guide him and help all cancer patients with their disease. Thank you.
It is very interesting and nourished my life.it would be nice to include all the prayers they have written or revealed to the by the Trinity . please their works also upload it for the use of people
St. John Eudes, pray for us. I thank the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and His blessed Mother for the outstanding success of all my IGCSE students who performed remarkably well in the recent exams. Dear Jesus and Mary inspire us to be innovative, interesting and inspiring in our teaching. May my teaching lead them to be good readers and even better speakers, listeners and writers. Bless all children who have speaking disorders. Loosen their tongues and may they have the pleasure of expression in the spoken and written language. Amen .
St. John Eudes, please pray for us.
hi
Could you give me some information regarding the Private Association of the Eudists Servants of the Eleventh Hour. Are they formally recognized as a Private Association by Rome or are they a Private Association connected with the main Eudists Order. Thank you
I'm truly happy to have read about St. John Eudes, of whom I knew nothing, altough, I have been in contact with the Good Sheperd sisters. Their ministry is active, and many young girls need them. But vocations are few in my country and sadly, their property was put on sale. Maybe it was not to happen and the sale didn't materialise. The girls who are cared for by the Good Sheperd sisters continue to receive the loving care of the sisters and the lay people around them. I pray that this Christmas, I'll be able to contribute some material help to them through my school. St. John Eudes pray for us. Amen
I once worked for the Good Shepherd Home in Seattle. The sister in charge of the 125 girls living and boarding there took the name Sr. John Eudes. She wore the name well. It took dedicated women with the help of the Holy Spirit to care for girls rejected by society. The girls of today are cared for by a broken foster care system and often on the streets. There is still a need for the Good Shepherds sisters.
Thank you for what you have written about St.John Eudes. I would just like to correct some incomplete information. St. John Eudes established a new religious order for women entitled: The Religious of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge. The first Sisters were trained by a Visitation nun. After the first Sisters were trained, the Visitation nun returned to her own community. The new order that St.John Eudes began had a fourth vow to labor for the salvation of souls. They were founded specifically to help girls and women who wanted to reform their lives. Since snatching souls from the devil was a difficult work, ordinary persons of good will to whom the work was first entrusted often gave up because of difficulties. The new religious community took the fourth vow specifically to aid them to persevere in this very demanding yet rewarding work of assisting girls and women to return to God. The order still exists today. In the 1800's, a member of this community, St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, had the vision of forming a Generalate directly under Rome so that greater exchange of personnel and greater expansion could be undertaken. She was given permission by Rome and the Holy Father but since all of the members of the initial order did not wish to be part of the new venture, a new religious community emerged entitled the Religious of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. (Commonly known today as the Good Shepherd Sisters). Within St. Mary Euphrasia's lifetime, 110 convents all over the world were begun.
It will be great if a picture of the saint of the day is shown along with his/her biography.
I went to confession today and for my penance Father told me to meditate for 15 minutes on the Saint of the day St. John Eudes - which I did. I had to do more because I didn't know any thing about him. The only way to find more about him was type in the my computer research engine "Catholic Saints' and to my surprise got his whole life story. A very pious and interesting Saint
St. John Eudes is a very inspirational saint....He is one of my favorite saints...
St John Eudes is a particular patron of the Little Sisters of the Poor an order of Religious founded by Blessed Jeanne Jugan whose canonization is prayed for and anticipated later this year.
A spiritual genius, I must insist. Take some time and read his works. Let me know if I can recommend any of them to you.
Not a well known saint. I do communion service at my parish each Tuesday. I announce whose feastday it is, and when I find a saint of whom I am not familiar, I research it, then share the info with the congregation. Thanks again for his bio.
st.john eudes is a priest
Nice story, :D