St John Eudes (1601 – 1680) was born into a farming family at Ri, France. He decided at an early age to devote his life to God and took a vow of chastity. He studied with the Jesuits and later the Oratorians. He was ordained a Priest in 1625.
Immediately following his ordination, he became seriously ill and was bedridden for around a year. In 1627 and again in 1631, St John quickly volunteered to care for the sick and then dying plague victims. He administered the sacraments and helped bury the dead while living an isolated life in a rudimentary shelter in the middle of a field – to avoid possibly infecting others.
At 32, St John became a parish missionary, moving throughout Normandy preaching and sharing the Gospel of Jesus with others..
St John Eudes set up three new Orders; the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity to help homeless women, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for the education of Priests and the Society of the Most Admirable Mother for laypeople.
St John Eudes once said, “You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus, sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has a devotion to Jesus, has a devotion to Mary”.
St John’s Feast Day is 19th August.
St John Eudes:
Pray for us that our daily devotion to Mary and Jesus never stops.
Glory be…