Saint John Eudes:

Feast day : 19 August

The Church today celebrates the feast of Saint John Eudes, a French Catholic priest who lived during the period 1601-1680. He is the founder of two religious communities - the Order of Our Lady of Charity in 1641 and Congregation of Jesus and Mary also known as The Eudists in 1643. He was a fervent promoter of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. His literary works on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary won him the title ‘Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary’ from Pope Leo XIII. Through his two congregations he worked towards the spiritual improvement of the clergy and founded many seminaries across the region.

Early Life:

Saint John Eudes was born in a farm in Northern France to Isaac Eudes and Martha Corbin on 14 November 1601. He had four sisters and two brothers. At the age of 14, he took a private vow of chastity. Later he joined the religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of France and was ordained a priest at the age of 24 on 20 December 1625.

Vocational Life:

After his ordination, he fell sick and was bedridden for almost a year. Later he completed his theological studies at Abervilliers. During the plagues of 1627 and 1631, he volunteered to care for the sick people of his own diocese. With the permission of his superiors, he administered the sacraments to them and personally ensured they received a formal burial. In order to protect others from being infected, he lived in isolation in a huge tent in the middle of a vacant field. In 1633 he began his preaching missions through the region. He became a noted preacher and confessor, evangelizing across France.

In 1641 he founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge in Caen. The Order became a shelter for women who were earlier prostitutes and had converted from their sinful life to lead a life of penance and prayer. On 8 February 1651, the Bishop of Bayeux gave it the diocesan approval and on 02 January 1666, Pope Alexander VII gave the papal approval for the Congregation.

He often felt a dire need for improvement in the spiritual formation of the clergy. To this effect, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary also known as The Eudists on 25 March 1643. Under this Order, he founded several seminaries in the region for the spiritual formation of the clergy. In 1674, he received six papal bulls of indulgences from Pope Clement X for confraternities and seminaries dedicated to the Sacred Hearts. He also founded the Society of the Most Admirable Mother.

Literary Works:

He was greatly influenced by the teaching of Saint Francis de Sales and the revelations of Saint Gertrude the Great on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He wrote an Office and a Mass for the devotion of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and the Holy Heart of Mary which later received approval from several bishops throughout the church. Pope Leo XIII gave him the title ‘Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy Heart of Mary’. The feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Mother of God was celebrated for the first time on 08 February 1948 and that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on 20 October 1672. He composed several rosaries and prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary. His book titled Le Cœur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu is the first book ever written on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts. His literary works were centred on Christ as the source of holiness and Mary as the model of Christian life.

Death and Sainthood:

Following a brief illness, Saint John Eudes died at Caen on 19 August 1680. He was canonized on 31 May 1925.