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St John Eudes Rehabilitation Centre for Street Children

Profile - St. JOHN EUDES  

Born November 1601 in Normandy, France. Farmer’s son who attended the Jesuit college at Caen at age 14. Joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France. Studied at Paris and Aubervilliers. Ordained Priest. Ministered to plague victims. Missionary and Preacher working well over 100 missions in various parishes throughout France. Worked against Jansenism. Established seminaries. Founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary Eudists March 1643 to promote virtuous secular parochial clergy not bound by vows, but dedicated to improving the clergy through seminariesand missions; due to opposition by Oratorians and Jansenists, he never obtained papal approval. Founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity who worked for the welfare of prostitutes. Died August 1680 at Caen. Canonized saint 1925.   [Saint John Eudes]
He joined the religious community of the Oratorians and was ordained a priest at 24. During severe plagues in 1627 and 1631, he volunteered to care for the stricken in his own diocese. Lest he infect his fellow religious, he lived in a huge cask in the middle of a field during the plague.   At age 32, John became a parish missionary. His gifts as preacher and confessor won him great popularity. He preached over 100 parish missions, some lasting from several weeks to several months  
In his parish mission work, John was disturbed by the terrible living conditions of prostitutes who sought to escape from their circumstances and to lead a normal life. Temporary shelters were found but arrangements were not satisfactory. A certain Madeleine Lamy, who had cared for several of the women, one day said to him, “Where are you off to now?  To some church, I suppose, where you’ll gaze at the images and think yourself pious. And all the time what is really wanted of you is a decent house for these poor creatures.” 

The words, and the laughter of those present, struck deeply within him. The result was another new religious community, called the Sisters of Charity of the Refuge.

 

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Last modified: September 16, 2007