200th POST OF REAL HEROES!
“A man is no true Christian if he has no devotion to the Mother of Jesus Christ.”
John was born on a farm close to the village of Ri, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1601. His father, Isaac Eudes was both a surgeon and a farmer and had 7 children with his wife Martha Corbin.
His family was very devout and at the age of 14 he took a private vow to remain chaste. At the same age he went to the Jesuit college at Caen, and despite his parents’ wish that he marry, he joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France when he was 22.
He was ordained a priest by the age of 24 and celebrated his 1st Mass at Christmas.
Plagues had struck the area, and he devoted his time working as a volunteer, caring for those in need, administering the sacraments and ensuring the dead received a proper burial. To avoid infecting colleagues, he lived in a large wooden storage container in the middle of a field.
At the age of 32, he began preaching throughout his region in over 100 missions. He was considered “the prodigy of his age.”
He condemned “the eaters of peoples, the leeches with their superb houses. The goods and the money that are in your possession, are not yours but God’s.”
In his work, he became disturbed when he saw the inadequate shelters for those prostitutes who sought to escape that life. Madeleine Lamy, one of their caretakers, challenged him to address the issue; “Where are you off to now? To some church I suppose, where you’ll gave 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 laughter of those present struck deep. In 1641, he founded the Order of the Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge in Caen as a refuge.
He then turned to the Visitation Sisters for assistance. Mother Patin arrived with 2 nuns, but it took several years for the new community to take shape.
In 1643, he severed his connections with the Oratorians to establish the Eudists for the education of priests and for missionary work. He also founded the Society of the Most Admirable Mother which acted as a Third Order.
Papal approval arrived in 1666 and the Order of Our Lady of Charity expanded as a result of the work from religious and civil authorities.
He died at Caen on August 19, 1680, as a result of declining health.
For 150 years, his Order thrived until the Revolution of 1789 when all the Religious were dispersed and closed. 15 years later, the community was reopened by a young Superior, Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier. It later included a convent in which the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd was established in 1829 and is now active in 72 countries. (missiongoodshepherd.org)
He is the patron saint of Eudists, Order of Our Lady of Charity, and the Diocese of Bale-Comeau Missionaries.
His feast day is August 19.
For God’s Glory.
