Joseph-Amand Passerat (born 30 April 1772, at Joinville, France; died 30 October 1858 in

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

, Belgium) was a French Redemptorist. He was declared

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 ...

in 1893 and confirmed as a

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 ...

in 1980.

Life

Passerat was driven from the seminary, imprisoned, and forced to serve in Napoleon's army from 1788 to 1792. Owing to his height he was made

drum-major A drum major or field commander is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or cor ...

, and later

quarter-master Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

. At the first opportunity he left the service and entered the

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. Clement Hofbauer trained him for the religious life and the priesthood, and he in turn trained newcomers. Later with great difficulty owing to the circumstances of the times he established houses outside of Poland.Magnier, John. "Venerable Joseph Passerat." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 28 December 2019 After the death of Hofbauer, Passerat succeeded him as vicar-general over all the transalpine communities (that is, the communities outside of Italy, where the Congregation originated). While thus engaged (1820–48) he founded houses in Bavaria, Prussia, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Holland, and England. Passerat sent the first six Redemptorists to the U.S. in 1832. Difficulties were many in the United States, and in Europe the danger of suppression was imminent. He used to say: "Console yourselves, we are seed, be it that we are reduced to ten, these like grains of corn reduced to dust under the earth will one day give a rich harvest". On 6 April 1848, he was driven out of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with his community. After much hardship he reached Belgium. He resigned his office and became director of the

Redemptoristines The Order of the Most Holy Redeemer (; abbreviated OSsR), also commonly known as the Redemptoristines, is a female contemplative religious order of the Catholic Church. It was formed in 1731, and is the female counterpart to the Redemptorists. H ...

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. In 1850 he joined the convent of redemptorists in Tournai, where he died in 1858. The process for his beatification began in 1892.“Venerable Joseph Passerat”. ''New Catholic Dictionary''. CatholicSaints.Info. 14 August 2018
/ref> Het was elevated in 1893 as 'servant of God" and in 1980 as 'Venerable'. He could in future be beatified.

References

Literature

* Achille DESURMONT cssr, ''Joseph Passerat et sous sa conduite les Redemptoristes pendant les guerres de l'Empire'', Montreuil-sur-Mer, 1893. * H. GIROUILLE cssr, ''Un grand serviteur de Dieu, Le Rev. Père Joseph Passerat'', Montreuil-sur-Mer, 1893. * John MAGNIER, ''Venerable Joseph Passerat'', The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 11, New York, 1911. * H. GIROUILLE cssr, ''Vie du Vénérable père Joseph Paaserat'', Parijs, Pierre Téqui, 1924. * Madeleine GAUTRON, ''L’âme du Père Passerat'', 1929. * DEBONGNIE cssr, ''Joseph-Amand Passerat, supérieur des Rédemptoristes transalpins 1772-1858: un juste proscrit'', Brugge, DDB, 1938. * PELISSIER cssr, ''Le Père Passerat, Un sillage de feu'', Apôtre du Foyer, 1949.

External links

http://www.jammart.be/passerat.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Passerat, Joseph 1772 births 1858 deaths Redemptorists 19th-century French Roman Catholic priests 18th-century French Roman Catholic priests Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II People from Joinville