CROS, LÉONARD. — Jesuit, born at Vabres (Aveyron) on 31 October 1831, died at Vitoria (Spain) on 17 January 1913. He devoted his entire life to the spiritual direction of young people, to various priestly ministries, and to literary publications, in the houses of Bordeaux, Toulouse, Pau, Castres, and Vitoria; and he acquired great merit above all through his tenacious campaign in favor of the early Communion of children and of frequent Communion.
Among C.’s numerous religious writings, only the following are mentioned: Le cœur de la Gertrude, ou un cœur selon le cœur de Jésus (Toulouse 1869; Italian translation, Turin 1930); Le confesseur de l'enfance et de la jeunesse (Toulouse 1877); Enfants à la S. Table, Difficultés d'écoliers (Brussels 1911).
In the historical, or more strictly hagiographical, field, he began with biographies intended for practical purposes: Vie du b. Jean Berchmans (Toulouse 1870, frequently reprinted; Italian translation, Turin 1921); Vie intime de St Louis (Toulouse 1871); Les vrais enseignements de s. Louis à son fils (there 1874). He soon wished to limit himself to the investigation and transcription of archival documents relating to the history of the Society of Jesus and its saints, and displayed extraordinary acumen and diligence in this work. He published: St Jean François Régis. Son pays, sa famille, sa vie. Documents nouveaux (Toulouse 1894); St François Xavier. Son pays, sa famille, sa vie. Documents nouveaux. Première série (there 1894); St François Xavier. Sa vie et ses lettres (2 vols., Paris 1900). For the following investigations (on s. Ignazio di Loyola, b. Pietro Favre, s. Alfonso Rodriguez, etc.), he left behind a very rich body of documentation. C. also made an interesting personal contribution to the history of the apparitions at Lourdes: Notre-Dame de Lourdes. Récits et mystères (Toulouse 1892; 2nd ed. 1901); N.-D. de Lourdes. Le réel divin des apparitions (Paris 1892); and, principally, the posthumous works: N.-D. de Lourdes et Bernadette (Toulouse 1925); Histoire de N.-D. de Lourdes d'après les documents et les témoins (3 vols., Paris 1925–27).