St. John Eudes was a French missionary and the founder of the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity. He was born in 1601. At the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity and from that time on he tried to live in full imitation of the Lord Jesus. When he was ordained a priest in 1625, at the age of 24, he was immediately thrust into the service of victims of the plague, whom he cared for at great risk to his own life. He also began preaching missions and was known as one of the greatest preachers of his age, preaching missions all over France, especially throughout Normandy.
St. John was instrumental in encouraging devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Heart of Mary, writing the first book ever on those devotions. He died at Caen, on August 19th, 1680. He was canonized in 1925.
“Our wish, our object, our chief occupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make His spirit, His devotion, His affections, His desires, and His disposition live and reign there. All our religious efforts should be directed to this end. It is the work that God has given us to do unceasingly.” St. John Eudes
