August 19: Saint John Eudes
Apostle of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
An untiring apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, known as the Eudists, his life was marked by intense missionary activity and profound spirituality, making him a prominent figure in the history of the 17th-century Church.
John Eudes was born on November 14, 1601, in Ri, near Argentan in Normandy. His parents, who had prayed to the Virgin Mary for a child, consecrated him to her from birth. He spent his childhood in the countryside and, at the age of 14, was entrusted to the Jesuits of Caen.
From 1621 to 1623, he studied theology in Caen, where he became acquainted with the Oratory, a community founded by Pierre de Bérulle. He entered the Paris Oratory on March 25, 1623, and continued his formation in the towns of Marines and Aubervilliers. He was ordained a priest on December 20, 1625, having been introduced by Bérulle to a spirituality centered on Christ and His priesthood.
Due to severe exhaustion, he had to stop for two years, which he transformed into a period of spiritual retreat and study. He came to realize ever more deeply that Christ is the head of the Mystical Body and that Christians are called to live united with Him.
In 1627, following a plague epidemic in his region, he returned to Argentan to care for the sick and administer the sacraments. Upon returning to Caen, he devoted himself to the local missions. For fifty years he preached the holiness of Christian life, reminding everyone that to be a Christian is to be holy, and he emphasized the importance of Baptism, from which all good begins.
Frequently encountering poorly prepared priests, he recognized the urgent need to form a better clergy. After years of prayer and reflection, he left the Oratory and, on March 25, 1643, founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (known as the Eudists) with several priests, opening the seminary of Caen. He devoted himself both to the formation of future priests and to missions, which he never abandoned.
As superior of his new community, he founded other seminaries in the regions of Normandy and Brittany, but also faced much opposition, even from friends and heretic Jansenist circles. He was slandered and persecuted, yet he saw in his sufferings a grace of divine mercy.
In 1648, he celebrated the first liturgical feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Autun, and in 1672, among the Eudists, the first feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. These feasts represented the culmination of his spiritual and apostolic life, always centered on the love of God, discovered in Scripture and prayer.
He died in Caen on August 19, 1680. On April 25, 1909, he was beatified by Pope Pius X, and on May 31, 1925, was canonized by Pope Pius XI.