Jean Eudes

John Eudes, CIM (; 14 November 1601 – 19 August 1680) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of both the Order of Our Lady of Charity in 1641 and Congregation of Jesus and Mary, also known as the Eudists, in 1643. He was also a professed member of the Oratory of Jesus until 1643.

Eudes was the author of the propers for the Mass and Divine Office of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was an ardent proponent of the two devotions and dedicated himself to their promotion and celebration. The Masses he compiled for both Sacred Hearts were both first celebrated within his lifetime. He preached missions across France, including Paris and Versailles, while earning recognition as a popular evangelist and confessor. Eudes was also a prolific writer and wrote on the Sacred Hearts despite opposition from the Jansenists.

Eudes was canonised in 1925 and his supporters are now petitioning to have him named a Doctor of the Church.

Sculpture of John Eudes at St. Peter's Basilica which has been in place since 1932. Saint Peter's Basilica features a statue portraying (and dedicated to) Eudes constructed by Silvio Silva in 1932. It is located on the right side of the central nave.

Doctor of the Church His supporters first proposed the idea to have Eudes named as a Doctor of the Church around the time of World War II, though the conflict and then the course of the Second Vatican Council caused the suspension of inquiries into such a path.

Both the Congregation of Jesus and Mary and the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd have introduced the Cause of their Founder Saint John Eudes (1601–1680) for a Doctorate. In the course of 2014–15, the episcopal conferences of France, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Benin, Honduras, and Colombia gave their full support to this proposal. The plenary session of the French Episcopal Conference on 8 November 2014 confirmed its support for the cause of Eudes as a Doctor of the Church. On 3 December 2016 the then-Superior General of the Eudists Camilo Bernal Hadad and the Bishop of Le Puy-en-Velay Luc Crépy met with Pope Francis to discuss the idea.

Those managing the process collected evidence needed to support the idea and compiled it into a Positio dossier, which included the reasons for the proposal as well as those spiritual works that would support it. This dossier was submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in April 2017 for them to evaluate.

Works Eudes wrote a number of books. His principal works are: La Vie et le Royaume de Jésus (The Life and Kingdom of Jesus – 1637) Le contrat de l'homme avec Dieu par le Saint Baptême (Contract of Man with God Through Holy Baptism – 1654) Le Bon Confesseur (The Good Confessor – 1666) Le Mémorial de la vie Ecclésiastique Le Prédicateur Apostolique Le Cœur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu (the first book ever written on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts)