DESURMONT, ACHILLE. - Redemptorist, b. at Tourcoing (Lille) on 23 Dec. 1828, d. at Thury-en-Valois on 23 July 1898. Ordained priest in 1853, he was spiritual prefect of the students and professor of pastoral theology; superior of the province of France for twenty-two years, he organized the province of Spain and the Pacific missions; he was apostolic visitor of the Little Sisters of the Poor (1892–96).
A man of most profound faith, he devoted the remarkable riches of his mind and heart to his religious family during a difficult period. There he promoted the study of St. Thomas and St. Alphonsus and worked for the latter’s proclamation as a Doctor of the Church. He preached many retreats to priests and religious communities, and wrote articles, pamphlets, and books, most of them published after his death; the most important of these is the pastoral work: La charité sacerdotale, (2 vols., Paris 1899). His writings (collected by P. Ribliier in 12 vols., ibid. 1906–13) bear the imprint of his strong personality.