Saint Peter Julian Eymard 19thC
Saint Peter Julian Eymard was born on February 4, 1811, and he died on August 1, 1868. He was a French Catholic priest and the founder of two religious institutes: the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women. Saint Peter Julian Eymard had some famous friends and contemporaries. Saint Peter Julian Eymard was a friend and contemporary of John Marie Vianney, Peter Chanel, Marcellin Champagnat, Basil Moreau, and Pauline-Marie Jaricot. Saint Peter Julian Eymard died at fifty-seven from a brain haemorrhage. He was buried in the cemetery at La Mure until 1877, when he was moved to the Blessed Sacrament Congregation’s Corpus Christi Chapel in Paris. Who are your friends?
Saint Peter Julian Eymard Biography
Saint Peter Julian Eymard was born in the French Alps. All his life, he had an intense devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. Before his First Communion on March 16, 1823, he went to the shrine of Notre-Dame du Laus. Later, he learned of the apparition of Notre-Dame de La Salette and liked traveling to various Marian shrines throughout France.
In 1828, Saint Peter Julian Eymard entered the novitiate of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate and, despite his father’s opposition, did so in June 1829. His first attempt as a seminarian ended because of serious illness. Throughout his life, he suffered from poor health, particularly ‘weakness of the lungs’ and migraine headaches. In 1831, he joined the major seminary of the Diocese of Grenoble. On July 20, 1834, he was ordained a priest.
On his second assignment at Monteynard, the parish, which had a dilapidated church and a poor rectory. There had not been a regular pastor there for a while, but when the bishop urged Eymard’s two sisters to move with him to the rectory. In fact, they furnished the rectory, for the parish was very poor. Although he is known to have revitalized the place, Saint Peter Julian Eymard was dissatisfied with parish work and decided to join the Marists. His two sisters were devastated as they had dedicated their lives to serving him, and here he was joining another religious society.
On August 20, 1837, Saint Peter Julian Eymard entered the Society of Mary seminary. He worked with lay organizations promoting devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the Eucharist, particularly in the Forty Hours. He rose to the position of Provincial of the Society at Lyon in 1844. His new responsibilities included being in charge of the Third Order of Mary, a lay group dedicated to Marist spirituality and to the promotion of the Christian family. John Vianney was a member.
His eucharistic spirituality progressively blossomed. As visitor-general, Saint Peter Julian Eymard travelled around France to inspect the various Marist communities. He became familiar with the practice of sustained eucharistic worship during a visit to Paris in 1849, when he met members of the Association of Nocturnal Adorers who had established perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories.
After praying at the shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere on January 21, 1851, Saint Peter Julian Eymard moved to establish a Marist community dedicated to eucharistic adoration. However, his desire to establish a separate fraternity promoting adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was not seen as part of the charism of the Marists. His superiors disapproved, transferring him to the Marist College at La Seyne-sur-Mer. Eventually, Eymard resolved to leave the Society of Mary to begin his new religious congregation.
Saint Peter Julian Eymard Veneration
Saint Peter Julian Eymard was declared venerable in 1908 and beatified by Pope Pius XI on July 12, 1926. The cause for his canonization was opened on July 28, 1926, and he was canonized by Pope John XXIII on December 9, 1962. Also canonized with him were Servite priest Anthony Mary Pucci (1819–1892) and the Capuchin lay brother Francis Mary of Camporosso (1804–1866). There is a statue of Eymard in Saint Jean Baptiste Catholic Church in New York City. Below the statue is a reliquary containing his right humerus bone. There are seven churches and three landmarks dedicated to him in the French-speaking areas.
Conclusion
Saint Peter Julian Eymard was the founder of two religious institutes: the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women. It is for this reason he is known today. Both of those organizations still exist. He is helped by the fact that he is a contemporary saint, living in the nineteenth century and only being canonized in 1962.
