GIOVANNI EUDES, Saint. – Born at Ri in Normandy on 14 November 1601, died at Caen on 19 August 1680. Educated at the Jesuit College in Caen, he formed his religious vocation under the guidance of Cardinal de Bérulle. Ordained priest in 1625, he began his apostolic ministry. As superior of the Oratory at Caen, he was entrusted by the bishops of Normandy with the task of preaching missions throughout the region.
To his ministry of the word he joined that of the pen with numerous ascetical publications, such as *La vie et le royaume de Jésus dans les âmes chrétiennes* (Caen 1637). To provide France with a clergy worthy of its mission, he founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, and to improve the conditions of fallen women, he founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge (v.). He was the apostle of devotion to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and he introduced this devotion into the sacred liturgy with an Office and Mass of his own composition, approved by ecclesiastical authority. In response to the attacks of the Jansenists against this devotion, he wrote several works, the most important of which is *Le Coeur admirable de la Mère de Dieu* (Caen 1680). Beatified by Pius X on 25 April 1909, he was canonized by Pius XI on 31 May 1925. His feast is celebrated on 19 August.
Works: *Oeuvres complètes*, 12 vols., Paris 1905–11; *Oeuvres choisies*, 8 vols., ibid. 1931–37.