Blessed Jacob Desiré Laval
Blessed Jacob Desiré Laval (French: Jacques-Désiré Laval; born September 18, 1803 AD in Croth, Normandy, France; died September 9, 1864 AD in Port Louis, Mauritius) was a French Catholic priest and missionary of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, known as the "Apostle of Mauritius" for his tireless evangelization of the newly freed black population of that island. A physician before his ordination, he devoted himself to the spiritual and material care of the poor. His feast day is September 9.
Jacques-Désiré Laval was the first person beatified by Pope John Paul II, in 1979. His ministry in Mauritius brought tens of thousands into the practice of the faith, and his tomb at Sainte-Croix in Port Louis remains a major place of pilgrimage for people of many religions.
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Jacob Desire Laval, Blessed Jacob Desiré Laval
| Blessed Jacob Desiré Laval | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | September 09 |
| Profession | Priest; physician; missionary of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) |
| Patronage | Mauritius; missionaries; the poor; physicians and former physicians |
| Attributes | Priestly cassock; Spiritan habit; ministry to the poor of Mauritius |
| Birthplace | Croth, Normandy, France |
| Death Place | Port Louis, Mauritius |
| Cause of Death | Natural death; missionary priest of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit; the "Apostle of Mauritius"; died at Port Louis after decades of evangelization |
| Primary Shrine | Shrine of Père Laval, Sainte-Croix, Port Louis, Mauritius |
Biography
Early life and medicine
Jacques-Désiré Laval was born on September 18, 1803, at Croth in Normandy, France, into a farming family. He studied medicine in Paris and became a physician, practicing for some years in Normandy. Successful and comfortable, he at first drifted from the fervent faith of his youth, but a serious riding accident and a period of reflection led to a profound conversion.
Priesthood
Resolving to give himself to God, Laval entered the seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and was ordained a priest in 1838. After a time as a parish priest in Normandy, he felt called to the foreign missions and joined the community that would become the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (the Spiritans), dedicated in part to the evangelization of Africa and of people of African descent.
Apostle of Mauritius
In 1841 Laval arrived in Mauritius, a British colony in the Indian Ocean where slavery had only recently been abolished. He devoted himself especially to the freed black population, who were largely neglected and unevangelized. Living simply and learning to speak to them in their own idiom, he catechized, baptized, and cared for tens of thousands, forming lay catechists and building a vibrant Christian community among the poor.
For more than twenty years he labored in Mauritius, working himself to exhaustion in the service of the island's people, until his health failed.
Death and veneration
Jacques-Désiré Laval died at Port Louis on September 9, 1864. His funeral drew great crowds, and devotion to him spread quickly. His tomb at Sainte-Croix in Port Louis became, and remains, a major place of pilgrimage, visited by Catholics as well as by Hindus, Muslims, and people of other faiths.
On April 29, 1979, he became the first person beatified by Pope John Paul II. He is honored as the Apostle of Mauritius, and his feast is kept on September 9.
Significant events
- 1803 — Born at Croth in Normandy on September 18.
- Becomes a physician after studies in Paris.
- 1838 — Ordained a priest after his conversion.
- 1841 — Arrives in Mauritius as a missionary.
- 1864 — Dies at Port Louis on September 9.
- 1979 — First person beatified by Pope John Paul II, on April 29.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Croth, Normandy, France
Death location: Port-Louis, Mauritius
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Notable location:
Dynamic content
Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Jacob Desiré Laval have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
No results
No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
Feast day
September 9
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.