Feast of the Annunciation, 1643

On March 25, 1643—the Feast of the Annunciation—French priest John Eudes founded the Society of Jesus and Mary in Caen, Normandy. Choosing this day highlighted the humility and obedience seen in Christ’s incarnation, and it set a tone of reverence, prayer, and readiness to serve. In a season of widespread spiritual need, the new community aimed to raise up holy, well-taught priests and to carry the gospel into towns and villages through parish missions.

John Eudes (1601–1680)

Eudes was known as a determined pastor and preacher who did not treat ministry as mere routine. He left familiar patterns of service to build a work that could outlast him—forming clergy who could rightly handle Scripture, shepherd consciences, and lead worship with godly seriousness. His courage was not loud bravado but steady faithfulness: enduring criticism, fatigue, and obstacles so that sinners might be called to repentance and believers strengthened in grace. “Preach the word… correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Caen, Normandy, and the Parish Missions

Caen became a strategic base for renewal, a place where community life, teaching, and mission could reinforce one another. The Society worked to restore careful catechesis, strengthen preaching, and encourage sincere confession and worthy participation in communion—pressing for integrity of life rather than mere outward religion. Their parish missions emphasized repentance, reconciliation, and renewed devotion, calling people to return to the Lord with honesty and hope: “Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19).

Legacy of Renewal and Devotion

The Eudists helped renew the clergy by combining disciplined formation with practical pastoral care. Their encouragement of devotion to the hearts of Jesus and Mary sought to focus believers on Christ’s mercy and love, and on a model of faithful surrender to God’s will. The lasting fruit was not an institution alone, but a pattern: prayerful communities, sound doctrine, reverent worship, and gospel-centered ministry for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls.