Nicolas Barré

Nicholas Barré, O.M. (21 October 1621 – 31 May 1686), was a French Minim friar and Catholic priest, who founded the Sisters of the Infant Jesus. He has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.

Early life Barré was born in Amiens, in the ancient province of Picardy in the Kingdom of France on 21 October 1621, the first-born and only son of Louis and Antoinette Barré. His father was one in a family line of haberdashers, a profession which had Saint Nicholas as a patron saint. As a boy, he was educated by the Jesuits, but later, in 1640, chose to join the Minims friars, founded by St. Francis of Paola, whose friars lead a very austere and penitential life. He professed religious vows in 1642.

Ministry

Work in Paris Barré was sent to Paris in 1643 to pursue his theological studies in preparation for Holy Orders. While he was still a deacon, he was asked to teach philosophy at the monastery on the Place Royale (now Place des Vosges). After his ordination to the priesthood in 1645, he assumed the office of professor of theology and librarian for the monastery's renowned library.

In 1655, Barré became ill and was sent to the monastery in Amiens. There, he was appointed to work as the sacristan of the house. The calming influence of this office brought about a quick recovery.

Work in Rouen In 1659, Barré was sent to Rouen, where he carried out his apostolate mainly with the local members of the Minim Third Order. He became widely known as a preacher and his sermons attracted a large audience.

As a result of his efforts to promote a planned parish mission in the nearby village of Sotteville-lès-Rouen, Barré came to see the suffering of the local population. He had long been concerned about those "far from God" and socially disadvantaged. He saw the need to make basic education more accessible to all. There were hardly any schools for girls and very few for boys. Most primary school teachers were poorly educated and religious education was almost non-existent.

While he was in Rouen, Barré was consulted by St. John Baptist de la Salle, who founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools to educate boys. He was assisted in this by Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, one of the wealthiest people in the kingdom, who funded and housed a school for training teachers of the Institute in her own palace.

Barré encouraged the first members of the Institute to offer human and spiritual support in a variety of ways depending on the needs of those they met. He encouraged them to go out to people in their surroundings; to find those who had lost direction in their lives and to look after people who were sick and abandoned:

‘It is in the valley of the greatest misfortune and tears that God is pleased to bring the soul to the heights – heights that reach even the infinity of God’s greatness. Experience shows that one can see the stars shining more brightly from the bottom of a well than in full daylight from the ground above’. Barré was beatified on 7 March 1999 by Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where 7,000 children from his schools were present to witness the beatification ceremony.