Saint John Eudes
Saint John Eudes
Born in Normandy in 1601, John Eudes became a priest and missionary amid the religious renewal of seventeenth-century France.
Spiritual heritage
Jesuit schooling, Pierre de Bérulle’s French Oratory, and Carmelite spirituality shaped his formation.
Missions and service
He preached more than 120 parish missions with teams of confessors and catechists. During plague outbreaks, he brought the sacraments and care to the sick and dying.
Refuges and a congregation
His concern for women in crisis led him to establish houses of refuge and, in 1641, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. To strengthen priestly formation, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary in 1643.
A liturgical legacy
He promoted devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, composed a liturgy honoring Mary’s Heart in 1648, and established the Feast of the Sacred Heart in 1672. His teaching and witness inform the cause for recognition as a Doctor of the Church.