CHAIGNON, PIERRE. - French Jesuit, b. 22 Oct. 1791; he entered the Society of Jesus in 1819 and d. at the age of 92 at Angers in 1883. He devoted almost his entire life to parish missions and retreats for the clergy.
The fruit of these ministries was the books of meditation that he published, of which various translations and very many editions were produced, given the merits of doctrine, clarity, and practicality with which they are endowed. 1) Le prêtre à l'autel ou le saint sacrifice de la Messe dignement célébré (Angers 1853); 2) Le prêtre sanctifié par la pratique de l'oraison, 1st French ed., ibid. 1858; latest Italian ed., 3 vols., Padua 1937); 3) La méditation ou le fidèle sanctifié (3 vols., Angers 1863); 4) Méditations religieuses, ou la perfection de l'état religieux (1st French ed., 3 vols., ibid. 1869; Italian ed., 3 vols., Rome 1913). The first two works in particular were greatly praised by Msgr. Freppel.