LEJEUNE, JEAN. — French sacred orator, born at Dôle in 1592 and died at Limoges on 19 August 1672. A member of the Oratory of Jesus founded by Bérulle in 1611, he distinguished himself through the holiness of his life, placed at the service of the faith, and through the original treatment of his sermons, in which, choosing moral subjects rather than dogmatic disquisitions, he succeeded in carrying away his audiences.
L.’s eloquence is indeed warm and persuasive, tinged with popular accents that still make its ardor come alive, even though the language is somewhat incorrect and the style agitated and inept. His Sermons (10 vols., Toulouse 1662) were later reprinted under the title Le missionnaire de l’Oratoire (cf. the Lyon edition, in 15 vols., 1825–27).