At Caen in France, Blessed Pierre-François Jamet, priest, who devoted himself with all zeal to assisting the religious Daughters of the Good Saviour, both in the time of great upheaval and after peace was restored to the Church.
Lifespan: 1762–1845
Beatified: 10 May 1987 by Pope John Paul II
Memoria liturgica: 12 January
“Mio Dio io sono a voi, come voi siete a me”
“My God, I am yours, as you are mine.”
Pierre-François Jamet was born on 12 September 1762 at Fresnes, then in the Diocese of Bayeux and today in that of Séez, in France. His parents, prosperous farmers, had eight children, two of whom became priests and one a religious sister. He studied at the college of Vire, and at the age of twenty felt called to the priesthood; he accordingly enrolled at the renowned University of Caen to pursue five years of philosophy and theology.
In 1784 he entered the seminary, and on 22 September 1787 was ordained to the priesthood. He obtained a baccalaureate in theology and the title of Master of Arts, but was unable to continue further specialization because of the outbreak of the French Revolution. At Caen there existed the community of the Daughters of the Good Saviour, an institute founded in 1720 by Mother Anne Leroy. In 1790 Pierre-François was appointed chaplain and confessor to the Institute, and in 1819 became its religious superior.
During the violence of the French Revolution, in 1798 he refused the oath imposed by the revolutionaries, was arrested, and faced threats of death. Miraculously he was freed, and gave himself with every means at his disposal to assisting the scattered Daughters of the Good Saviour — celebrating Mass in secret, sustaining wavering confrères, and encouraging the persecuted faithful.
When the Revolution ended, he was able to devote himself openly to the restoration and growth of the Congregation of the Good Saviour. He introduced care for the deaf-mute, himself undertaking specialized studies for their education and introducing new teaching methods.
For eight years, from 1822 to 1830, he served as rector of the University of Caen, restoring among its teachers and students a new atmosphere of Christian faith after the great storm of the Revolution and the spread of Enlightenment and rationalist ideas. He was able to accomplish all this for the glory of God because interiorly he belonged entirely to God. At the age of eighty-three, worn down by labour and years, Pierre-François Jamet died on 12 January 1845.
Political circumstances meant that, despite his widespread reputation for holiness, the necessary canonical processes did not begin until 1930, concluding with the approval of the miracle attributed to his intercession on 11 December 1985.
Pope John Paul II beatified him on 10 May 1987.