Jean de Montmirail (or Monte-Mirabili), Baron de Montmirail, O.S.B. Cist. (1165 – 29 September 1217), was a French nobleman who became a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monk. He is venerated as a '' beatus'' in the

Catholic Church 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 ...

Life

John was the son of André de Montmirail, Lord of Montmirail and Ferté-Gaucher, and Hildiarde d'Oisy, daughter of Simon d'Oisy,

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

. He was given a religious upbringing by his mother, and was well educated. He became the first Lord of Condé. While young, he embraced a military career and was presented at the Royal Court, as constable of France, where he formed a lasting friendship with

Philip Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

(who later became King Philip II of France); he became, not only the friend and favorite of the King, but also later his advisor. On one occasion, John was even said to have saved Philip's life. The dissipations of court life led him to neglect the training of his youth; even his marriage with Helvide de Dampierre, sister of

Guy II of Dampierre {{Infobox noble , name = Guy II of Dampierre , title = Lord of Dampierre , image = Coat of arms of the House of Welf-Brunswick (Braunschweig).svg , caption = The arms borne , alt = ...

, failed to effect a change. King Philip II later decorated him with the title of Baron. In his thirtieth year he met Jobert, Prior of St-Etienne de Montmirail, and experienced a conversion. He built a hospital for the sick of all kinds, but the objects of his

predilection In psychology, economics and philosophy, preference is a technical term usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives. For example, someone prefers A over B if they would rather choose A than B. Preferences are central to decision theo ...

were the

lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

, and those hopelessly afflicted. He wore a

hair-shirt A cilice , also known as a sackcloth, was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It is used by members of various Christian traditions (including the Roman Catholic Church, ...

, frequently passing entire nights in prayer. After a while, he entered the Cistercian monastery of Longpont, after having distributed among the poor all his possessions not needed by his wife and family. He was abused for his decision by his former friends. Even members of his own family disapproved of his abandonment of honour and wealth for poverty and subjection. He died at

Longpont Longpont () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is around 13 km southwest of Soissons, and around 75 km northeast of Paris. As at 2018 it has a population of 255. The former Longpont Abbey i ...

on 29 September 1217.

Veneration

Miracles were said to be wrought at his tomb, and attracted pilgrims. By the 1230s, John was being venerated as a miracle-working saint.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

granted a special office in his honour for the

diocese of Soissons The Roman Catholic Diocese of Soissons, Laon, and Saint-Quentin (Latin: ''Dioecesis Suessionensis, Laudunensis et Sanquintinensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Soissons, Laon et Saint-Quentin'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Ch ...

. He was beatified in 1891. His feast is celebrated on 29 September.

References

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montmirail, Jean De 1165 births 1217 deaths French Cistercians French beatified people French untitled nobility