Claude-François Poullart des Places, C.S.Sp. (26 February 1679 – 2 October 1709) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

who founded the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

in 1703 at the age of 24. The decree opening his cause of

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

was promulgated on 1 October 1989, but has not yet proceeded to his

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Biography

Early life

Claude des Places, was born on 26 February 1679 in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, France, the son of a French aristocrat, François des Places, and his wife, Jeanne le Meneust. He was baptized the next day. His father was one of the wealthiest businessmen in the city and enjoyed considerable standing in the community as an attorney in the Breton Parliament. Claude's mother also belonged to the aristocracy and, prior to her marriage, served as governess to the family of the President of the Provincial Parliament.Troy C.S.Sp, Michael. "Claude des Places", Spiritans, USA
/ref> His family moved twice in his childhood. Following a relocation to

Saint-Sauveur-en-Rue Saint-Sauveur-en-Rue () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Geography Saint-Sauveur-en-Rue is located south of the Parc Naturel Régional du Pilat. It is the southernmost town of the ''département'' of the Loire. Saint Sauve ...

, des Places entered the Jesuit Collège Saint-Thomas in October 1690. He studied further under the Jesuits at their college in Rennes and

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Louis Grignion de Montfort Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (31 January 1673 – 28 April 1716) was a French Roman Catholic priest and confessor. He was known in his time as a preacher and was made a missionary apostolic by Pope Clement XI. As well as preaching, Montfort ...

. Des Places led a mischievous adolescence: he once narrowly missed his sister with a shot from their father's revolver—he thought it was unloaded—when she was annoying him as he studied a role for a school play. He was nearly killed himself during a hunting trip, and got into a roadside brawl in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. He was a talented student, however, and was the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

of his class. For his remarkable graduation dissertation he was invited to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

as a guest of France's royal family.

Religious life

Des Places' life began to change when he became aware of the needs of the poor while studying law—he was soon moved to help the homeless boys and chimney sweeps by giving them money from his allowance. Though he graduated with his degree in law from Nantes in 1700, his growing involvement with the poor inspired the young des Places to give up his career. He left the university and entered the Jesuit seminary Lycée Louis-le-Grand in 1701. He received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

on 15 August 1702. Seeing that many of his fellow seminarians were struggling to meet their basic needs, des Places began to support a small group of them financially. Eventually, des Places joined them in the house that he had provided for them. Soon, a dozen of these students asked des Places to set up a formal community, so on

Pentecost Sunday Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of ...

(27 May) of 1703, the group met in the Church of Saint Etienne-des-Grès to dedicate themselves to the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

, under the special patronage of Mary. The society, which founded a new seminary—the Seminary of the Holy Spirit— had two aims: to support students on their way to the priesthood, and to serve the poor of rural France and in missions overseas. The formation process of the new society was uniquely modelled after that of

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

s, rather than on that of clerical seminaries. Des Places received minor orders on 6 June 1705, the same year his community moved to Rue Neuve-

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of Bl ...

(Rue Rollin); he was ordained to the

subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...

ate on 18 December 1706, and a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on 19 March 1707. On 17 December 1707, des Places was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

at the age of 28. Two years later, Claude died of pleurisy at the age of 30 in 1709."The Spiritan story", congregation of the Holy Spirit, British Province
/ref>

Veneration

The decree for the cause for his canonization was promulgated on 1 October 1989. Further progress was made in 2005, when the postulator of des Place's cause presented the results of the diocesan inquiry to Rome. A decree of validity was signed on 24 May 2008. A decree of recognition of the heroic nature of des Place's virtues is expected.

Selected bibliography

* * * * * *

References

External links

Claude François Poullart des Places: Founder of the Spiritans
(A detailed set of biographies of des Places from the Canadian Congregation of the Holy Spirit)

(A biography from the French Spiritans)
Claude-François Poullart des Places
(Article from the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'')
"Claude Francis Poullart des Places", Spiritans, Rome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Des Places, Claude-Francois Poullart 1679 births 1709 deaths 18th-century French Roman Catholic priests Founders of Catholic religious communities Holy Ghost Fathers Clergy from Rennes