PETER FOURIER, Saint. - Regular canon, parish priest, founder of the Regular Canonesses of Our Lady, reformer of the canonical life, b. at Mirecourt in the Duchy of Lorraine on 30 Nov. 1565.
He completed his classical and ecclesiastical studies twice over at the Jesuits of Pont-à-Mousson. In 1586 he professed at the abbey of Chamoussey, and he was ordained a priest on 25 Feb. 1589. F.'s exemplary religious observance aroused the envy of his lax confreres, and the abbot assigned him to the parochial ministry. Among three parishes of his free choice F. opted for Mattaincourt, where faith and good morals had almost disappeared; they flourished again in a short time, and for forty years F. tirelessly promoted the religious and social welfare of the village. In 1598 Alix Le Clerc, blessed, with four other young women of Mattaincourt, aspired to the religious life with the aim of the Christian education and free instruction of poor girls. F. seconded their holy initiative, but he encountered many and grave difficulties. The life of strict enclosure was still held to be incompatible with the teaching of external pupils. From 1617 onward F. had traced the norms of life for his fervent daughters, approved by Urban VIII in 1628. In the same year F.'s Constitutions for the reform of the canonical life also received their pontifical sanction and were accepted by various abbeys which, gathered together, constituted the new Congregation of Our Savior. The war for the annexation of Lorraine to France, the plague and famine devastated the Duchy. F. continued his charitable work until, in order to remain faithful to the reigning house, he was forced into exile. He took refuge at Gray (Haute-Saône), where he d. on 9 Dec. 1640. He was one of the greatest champions of the post-Tridentine ecclesiastical Reform. Leo XIII declared him a saint on 27 May 1897. Feast on 7 July.
Bibliography3 works
Nicola Widlocher