St Peter Julian Eymard 1811-1868 |
Born in France in February
1811, Peter Julian Eymard worked at his father's trade as cutler until he was
18, when he went to the seminary at Grenoble. In spite of his poor health, he
was ordained a priest in 1834. He served as a parish priest for several years,
then in 1845 he joined the Marists where he worked as a well‑respected
spiritual advisor with seminarians and priests. He worked with other lay
organizations promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the
Eucharist. He rose to the position of Provincial of the Marist Society at Lyon
in 1845. In 1856, due to disputes with the Marists, Eymard left them and
founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and 2 years later founded the
Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, a congregation for women.
The Congregation of the
Blessed Sacrament began working with children in Paris to prepare them to
receive their First Communion, even though this custom was only approved in
1909 by Pope Pius X. It also reached out to non‑practising Catholics, inviting
them to repent and begin receiving Communion again. Eymard was a tireless
proponent of frequent Holy Communion, another idea approved by Pope Pius X in
1905.
The French sculptor Auguste
Rodin received counsel from Eymard when Rodin entered the Congregation as a lay
brother in 1862, having giving up art after the death of his sister. Eymard
recognized Rodin's talent and advised him to return to his vocation. Rodin
later produced a bust of Eymard. St. Peter Julian died on 1
August 1868. He was beatified in 1925, and canonized by Pope John XXIII on 9
December 1962. His Order runs a church in New York City where they have perpetual
adoration of the Eucharist.
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