Jean Paul Médaille
Encyclopedia
- Jean Pierre Médaille (1610-1669) was an older brother, apparently often confused with Jean Paul
Jean Paul Médaille (29 January 1618 – 15 May 1689) was a French Jesuit
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
missionary, and founder of an order of Catholic religious sisters.
Médaille was born at Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
, Department of Aude
Aude
Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department "Cathar Country".Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother...
, France. He entered the Society of Jesus, 15 August, 1640, and after completing his studies spent a number of years in the classroom, teaching both the lower and higher studies of the college courses and particularly, for the space of six years, philosophy. Later he was applied to preaching, his life's work; to this he gave himself up almost exclusively for eighteen years, until advancing age forced him instead to take up directing sodalities
Sodality (Catholic Church)
A sodality, also known as a "union of prayer" or "confraternity", is an older designation for a lay ecclesial movement or organization in the Roman Catholic Church....
and hearing confessions.
He was one of the number of missioners formed in the school of St. Francis Regis
John Francis Regis
John Francis Regis, also known as Saint Jean-François Régis, Saint François Régis, and St. Regis, , was a French priest of the Society of Jesus, recognized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church....
of the Society of Jesus, and spent the best years of his life in the evangelization of Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France.Its inhabitants are called Ponots.-History:Le Puy-en-Velay was a major bishopric in medieval France, founded early, though its early history is legendary...
, Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, and Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....
. Pious sodalities, lacked certain elements which Father Medaille regarded as necessary. Their members, although devoted, were hampered in many ways and by many ties. Father Medaille resolved, therefore, to start a congregation of nuns who should give themselves up wholly to all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Having matured his plans, he laid them before Henri de Maupas, who gave them his fullest approval. Shortly after, Father Medaille founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph
Sisters of St. Joseph
The title Sisters of St. Joseph applies to several Roman Catholic religious congregations of women. The largest and oldest of these was founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France...
.
The general idea of the congregation was drawn, at least to a certain extent, from the works of St. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
, but the details of its practical development were based almost entirely on the constitutions of the Society of Jesus. He died at Auch
Auch
Auch is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Midi-Pyrénées, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony.-The Ausci:...
, Department of Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
, France.
The only one of his writings that survives, aside from some correspondence, except the "Constitutions pour la Congrégation des Soeurs de Saint Joseph". These constitutions have been incorrectly attributed to Father Peter Medaille, S.J. It is true that Father Peter Medaille contributed much in later years to the congregation, but at the time of its foundation he was still a novice.