The Feast of Jacques Laval, C.S.Sp., Spiritan Doctor, is on Sept. 9

One of the first members of the “new” Congregation of the Holy Spirit, re-founded by Francis Libermann in 1848, Jacques Desire Laval was an already ordained Catholic priest working in France when he chose to become a Spiritan.

Inspired by Libermann and his project to minister to freed slaves, Laval volunteered to serve the black Creole community in France. Born in 1803, Laval studied medicine in Paris and had been engaged in an active medical practice in Normandy for some years before entering the priesthood. In 1841, he set sail for Mauritius, an island east of the African continent, and never returned to France.

Appointed curate of the island’s cathedral parish of St. Louis, Laval constructed a simple, wooden structure within the parish compound that served as home, catechetical center, pastoral counseling office and social service agency. In less than 10 years, he had established a network of Christian communities led by male and female catechists, emphasizing mutual support, with particular care for the sick and the poorest.

His reputation as a man of prayer, ascetical practice and complete availability to the poor was widespread. Jacques Laval died on Sept. 9, 1864. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 29, 1979.

Under his patronage, an international Office of Health Care Services for the Spiritan Congregation has been established at the Spiritan Motherhouse in Paris, directed by Dr. Marc Tyrant, C.S.Sp., a Spiritan brother.

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, Fr. Jocelyn Gregoire, C.S.Sp., assistant professor of the School of Education, will present his research, Examination of the Impact of the Roman Catholic Church on the Individual and Collective Racial-Cultural Identity Development of Mauritian Code, at the second annual Paluse Lectures sponsored by the Center for Catholic Social Thought. Gregoire is among four Paluse Award winners this year.