CROISET, JEAN. - Jesuit, writer on asceticism, b. at Marseille on 28 Aug. 1656; d. at Avignon on 31 Jan. 1738. A professor of theology, rector of various colleges, master of novices and, as provincial, he is remembered above all because he was the director of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and played a very important part as a pioneer and trailblazer in the spread of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In fact, he published at Lyon, in 1689, a first short work: La dévotion au Sacré Coeur de N. S. Jésus-Christ (a simple reworking of the booklet by a Visitandine, presented to him by the Saint and known under the name of the
« Recueil de Dijon »); which then reappeared in 1691, but greatly expanded and completed, and began to circulate in many numerous editions and versions (the edition of 1694 was, ten years later, placed on the Index, because it contained an Office of the Sacred Heart without the prior approval of Rome; the prohibition was lifted only in 1887). The novelty of the subject matter and of the devotion treated aroused many approvals, but also strong opposition, and C., accused at Rome, had to stay away from Lyon for several years. Other works of his, widely circulated and translated, are: Retraite spirituelle pour un jour de chaque mois (Lyon 1694); Retraite pour se préparer à la mort (ibid. 1704); Année chrétienne. Exercices de piété pour tous les jours de l'année (12 vols., ibid. 1712-20), a commentary on the mystery or on the life of the saints occurring each day, from which were later derived separate volumes on the life of Jesus, of Mary and of the Saints (ibid. 1723-26).