Michael Garicoits

Michel Garicoïts (15 April 1797 – 14 May 1863) was a French Basque Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram. He combated Jansenism in his parish due to the threat that it posed to the faith. He served as a teacher and preacher and was known for his ardent devotion to both the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart.

The sainthood cause commenced under Pope Leo XIII in mid-1899 while Pope Benedict XV later named him as Venerable on 10 December 1916 upon the confirmation of his heroic virtue. Pope Pius XI beatified him in 1923 while Pope Pius XII later canonized him as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church over a decade later in 1947.

Life Michel Garicoïts was born on 15 April 1797 in Saint-Just-Ibarre as the first of six children of the peasants Arnaud Garicoïts and Gratianne Etchéverry. His parents remained faithful and true to the spirit of the faith during the persecutions of the French Revolution while also doing their best to shelter priests. San Miguel Garicoits, Montevideo, Uruguay