Saint Peter Julian Eymard

Peter Julian Eymard S.S.S. (French: Pierre-Julien Eymard [pjɛʁ ʒyljɛ̃ ɛjmɑʁ]; 4 February 1811 – 1 August 1868) was a French Catholic priest, saint and founder of two religious institutes: the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women. Eymard was born 4 February 1811 at La Mure, Isère, in the French Alps. His father was a smith whose second wife was Julian's mother. All his life Peter Julian (or Pierre-Julien in French) had an intense devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. Before his First Communion on 16 March 1823, he went on foot to the shrine of Notre-Dame du Laus. Later, he learned of the apparition of Notre-Dame de La Salette and enjoyed traveling to various Marian shrines throughout France. When his mother died in 1828 Julian resolved to enter 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, Eymard suffered from poor health, particularly ‘weakness of the lungs’ and migraine headaches. After his father's death in 1831, he succeeded – with the help of his former superior – in gaining admission to the major seminary of the Diocese of Grenoble. On 20 July 1834, he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Grenoble. He was assigned as assistant pastor at the town of Chatte, and three years later appointed pastor of Mount Saint-Eynard. On his second assignment at Monteynard, the parish, which had a dilapidated church and poor rectory, consisted of a farming community with few people attending Mass. There had not been a regular pastor there for some time. The bishop urged Eymard's two sisters to move with him to the rectory, which they did. In fact, they furnished the rectory, for the parish was very poor. Although Eymard is known to have revitalized the place, he was dissatisfied with parish work, and decided to join the Marists (the Society of Mary).