May 13
Andrew Fournet (1752–1834)
Founding priest
Practical advice
Trusting in the grace of God, exercise authority as a service and not as a privilege, remembering that holiness is built in the ordinary.
Biography
He was born near Poitiers, France. In his early youth he lived devoted to pleasures. He studied at the University of Poitiers without great commitment on his part. He dropped out of school and joined the army. His life, however, changed radically when he came into contact with an uncle of his who was a parish priest. He was ordained a priest and exercised parish ministry. He refused to pay tribute to the civil constitution of the clergy that was promulgated in the early days of the French revolution. In 1792 he had to take refuge in Spain where he lived until he was able to return to France. He exercised his priestly ministry in secret. After the Napoleonic concordat and, together with Saint Elizabeth Bichier des Ages, she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, for the education of children and assistance to the poor and sick. He was canonized in 1933.