Johannes Ludovicus Paquay (17 November 1828 - 1 January 1905), also known as Valentinus, was a Belgian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

and a professed member from the

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

. He was a popular confessor and noted preacher while serving in various leadership positions in the house he was stationed in; he was also known for his popular devotion to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

and promoted these devotions to the faithful and to his conferees alike.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

beatified him in

Saint Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo. Bot ...

on 9 November 2003.

Life

Johannes Ludovicus Paquay was born in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 17 November 1828 as the fifth of eleven children to Hendrik Paquay and Anne Neven. He studied literature at the college in

Tongeren Tongeren (; french: Tongres ; german: Tongern ; li, Tóngere ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg, in the southeastern corner of the Flemish region of Belgium. Tongeren is the oldest town in Belgium, as the onl ...

- the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine managed it - and commenced his studies for the priesthood at Saint-Trond in 1845. But his father died in an unexpected twist in 1847 and he left school in order to join the

and he commenced his

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 ...

Thielt Tielt (; french: Thielt) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Tielt proper and the villages of Aarsele, Kanegem, and Schuiferskapelle. History Some traces of Gallo-Roman occu ...

on 3 October 1849. He made his perpetual profession on 4 October 1850 in the new religious name of "Valentinus" and made his profession into the hands of Father Ugoline Demont who was the head of that convent. Paquay later resumed his studies after this and 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 ...

to the priesthood on 10 June 1854. He was at once assigned to the

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as its ...

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

where he was stationed for the remainder of his life and there served as both sub-prior and prior of that house. Paquay served as the provincial definitor from 1890 until 1899 and soon became a sought after confessor and

spiritual director Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the di ...

. The priest became noted for his ardent devotion to the

and he often prompted to his parishioners the importance of the frequent reception of the Eucharist while likewise promoting to the faithful the devotion of the

as well as to his fellow friars. He died in 1905.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

in an informative process that opened in 1908 and later closed in 1910 while theologians compiled his spiritual writings and approved them to be in line with doctrine on 25 February 1920; the formal introduction to the cause came under

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

on 22 November 1922 and he was titled as a

Servant of God "Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...

. An apostolic process was later held from 1925 until 1926 while that and the informative process received the validation of the

Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

on 19 July 1939. An antepreparatory congregation approved the cause on 8 May 1956 as did a preparatory one on 4 July 1967 which led to a general congregation likewise approving it on 14 July 1967; a session of the newly established

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pa ...

approved the cause on 8 May 1969. The late priest was named as

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

on 4 May 1970 after

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

approved that the Franciscan friar had led a model life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs and used by the Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman abilities and great goodness, and "it ...

. The single miracle required for beatification was investigated from 1952 to 1953 and was validated on 20 October 2000 before receiving the approval of a medical board on 18 April 2002. Theologians also approved it on 12 November 2002 as did the C.C.S. on 10 December 2002 before

granted final approval for it on 20 December 2002. This allowed for the pope to celebrate his beatification on 9 November 2003 in

. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Roman Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Obse ...

for this cause is Fra Giovangiuseppe Califano.

Publications

* Remaclus Moonen, O.F.M., "Het leven van p. Valentinus Paquay", 1912, 12th ed. Hasselt 1991.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNSanti e Beati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paquay, Johannes Ludovicus 1828 births 1905 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests Belgian beatified people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Franciscans Franciscan beatified people People from Tongeren Venerated Catholics