Jean Paul Médaille, SJ (29 January 1618 – 15 May 1689) was a French

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionary.

Jean Paul Médaille

Jean Paul Médaille was born on 29 January 1618 at

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

Department of Aude Aude ( ; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it "Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

, France. He entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

on 15 August 1640, and after completing his studies spent a number of years in the classroom, teaching both the lower and higher studies of the college courses and particularly, for the space of six years, philosophy. Later he was applied to preaching, his life's work; to this he gave himself up almost exclusively for eighteen years, until advancing age forced him instead to take up directing sodalities and hearing confessions.Fisher, John. "Jean Paul Medaille." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 20 Jun. 2013
/ref> He was one of the number of missioners formed in the school of St. Francis Regis of the Society of Jesus, and spent years in the evangelization of

Velay Velay () is a historical area of France situated in the east Haute-Loire ''Département in France, département'' and southeast of Massif central, Massif Central. History Julius Caesar mentioned the vellavi as the subordinate of the arverni. ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

, and

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

. According to the ''Encyclopedia of Canada'', on 15 October 1650, Medaille introduced the first

Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for Saint Jo ...

to the

Bishop of Le Puy The Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay (Latin: ''Dioecesis Aniciensis''; French: ''Diocèse du Puy-en-Velay'' ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole Department of Haute-Loire, in the Region of Auvergne-R ...

. While the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1911) and the ''Encyclopedia of Canada'' attribute the founding of the Sisters of St. Joseph to Médaille, other sources identify his older brother Jean Pierre Médaille (1610-1669) as founder of the order. Médaille died at

Auch Auch (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in southwestern France. Located in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers Departments of France, department. Geography Localiza ...

in 1689.

Jean-Pierre Médaille

Jean-Pierre Médaille was born in Carcassonne, France on 6 October 1610 to Phelippe d’Estévéril and Jean Médaille. His father was King Louis XIII’s lawyer. The family lived in fairly comfortable circumstances and were deeply religious. He had two brothers: Jean-Paul, born in 1618, who later became a Jesuit missionary, and Jean, who inherited his father’s position and became a prominent attorney."Medaille Spirituality", Sisters of St. Joseph of Peterborough
/ref> At age 13, Jean Pierre attended classes at the newly founded Jesuit College in Carcassonne. Shortly before his 16th birthday he entered the Society of Jesus in Toulouse, where he met St. Jean-Francois Regis. He taught for a while in Carcassonne before returning to Toulouse to study theology. He was ordained in 1637 at the age of 27."Jean-Pierre Médaille, sj", Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto
/ref> Fr. Jean-Pierre served as Assistant to the Rector of the Jesuit College in Aurillac before returning to Toulouse, where he met Father

Noël Chabanel Noël Chabanel (February 2, 1613 – December 8, 1649) was a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, and one of the Canadian Martyrs. Biography Chabenal was born February 2, 1613 in the village of Saugues, France, the youngest ...

, S.J. shared this year of spiritual renewal and enrichment with him. Father Noël was missioned to Canada at the end of this year. Noel was later killed while on assignment and is one of the Canadian Martyrs. Father Jean-Pierre was a gifted spiritual director and a superb preacher. In 1645, he was assigned to preach parish missions. It was during these missionary tours that he encountered several young single women and widows who confided in him their desire to consecrate their lives to God and the service of the people in need while living in the world. In Le Puy-en-Velay, the Saint-Joseph hospice for orphans and widows was under the authority of Bishop Henri de Maupas. He had been a friend of Saints

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. ...

and

Francis de Sales Francis de Sales, Congregation of the Oratory, C.O., Order of Minims, O.M. (; ; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Savoyard state, Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became n ...

. Both of them had founded congregations of women engaging in apostolic works outside the cloister (a requirement for women religious at the time). Fr. Jean-Pierre approached the Bishop with a plan for women who wished to combine holiness of life with apostolic activity, and the Bishop responded favourably. Fr. Jean-Pierre founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Le Puy, France, a congregation of nuns who should give themselves up wholly and unreservedly to all the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The design of the congregation was based on the spirituality of the Society of Jesus. Bishop de Maupas, officially accepted the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph giving them canonical status and the habit on 15 October 1650.

Legacy

Sacred Heart High School in

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a City (New Jersey), city and the most populous municipality in Cumberland County, New Jersey, Cumberland County, within the U.S. state of New Jersey. Bridgeton, New Jersey, Bridgeton and Vineland are the two principal cities of the ...

, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph, and presents a "Jean Paul Medaille Award" in honor of their founder.

Medaille University Medaille University was a private college in Buffalo, New York. The Sisters of St. Joseph founded Medaille in 1937, naming it after their founder, Jean Paul Médaille. It later became nonsectarian and coeducational. The college served roughly 1 ...

in Buffalo, New York, was named after him. Medaille University closed on August 31, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medaille, Jean Paul 1618 births 1689 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in France Jesuit missionaries