Blessed Pierre Bonhomme

Pierre Bonhomme (4 July 1803 – 9 September 1861) was a French Roman Catholic priest who exercised his pastoral mission in Cahors. He went on to establish the new religious congregation known as the Sisters of Our Lady of Calvary of Gramat. Bonhomme established his new congregation with the aim of the education of children and assistance to the poor and the handicapped. He opened schools for children and educated people about the importance of service to the poor and those who required aid. He was remembered after his death as a tireless preacher and evangelizer. He was beatified on 23 March 2003 after the recognition of a healing attributed to him as a miracle. Pierre Bonhomme was born in 1803 in France; he had one sister. He was a pious and studious child who felt his religious calling as a child. He commenced his studies for the priesthood at Montfaucon in November 1818 and was later ordained to the diaconate. While a deacon he established a school for adolescent males. He was ordained to the priesthood on 23 December 1827 and was assigned as a parish priest in the Diocese of Cahors. In 1831 he opened a school to prepare seminarians for the priesthood and to help them with their studies and he later went on to establish the Children of Mary to provide for the spiritual need of girls in Gramat. He gained a formidable reputation as a preacher and he urged all people, especially the youth, to visit and to help the poor and the frail who he believed were effectively abandoned and left to fend for themselves. He founded a home around this same time, and he also established his own religious congregation that was tasked with teaching children, helping the poor and assisting the sick and disabled. Known for his devotion to Our Lady of Rocamadour, he turned to her after he had completely lost his voice while preaching a retreat; he was miraculously healed and managed to complete the retreat.