Claude Judde (1661–1735) was a French Jesuit from

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, known for his spiritual writings. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on September 18, 1677, and took his final vows on February 2, 1695. He then began preaching, and became quite well known.

Bourdaloue Louis Bourdaloue (20 August 1632 – 13 May 1704) was a French Jesuit and preacher. Biography He was born in Bourges. At the age of sixteen he entered the Society of Jesus, and was appointed successively professor of rhetoric, philosophy ...

desired for Judde to become his successor, but Judde's superiors asked him to sacrifice his talents and train his fellow Jesuits instead. He accepted this obscure office, and from 1704 to 1721 he served as teacher of the third probation at Rouen, and then rector of the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

. His lessons were so admired that his students would copy them to preserve their memories in writing. Many of these copies can still be found today. Judde never published any of his works during his lifetime; however, thanks to the transcriptions made by his students, many collections have been produced posthumously.

Selected works

*''Retraite spirituelle pour les personnes religieuses'' *''Réflexions chrétiennes sur les grandes vérités de la foi et sur les principaux mystères de la Passion de Notre Seigneur'' *''Exhortations sur les principaux devoirs de l'état religieux'' *''Œuvres spirituelles'' ** includes ''Retraite spirituelle de trente jours'' 1661 births 1735 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French Jesuits {{France-reli-bio-stub