, 19 August 1672) was a French Oratorian priest, known as a preacher. Blindness overtook him at the age or thirty-five, and he was known as "The Blind Father".

Life

He was the son of a lawyer at Dole, of a family, which during the previous century had attained to a high position in the magistracy and was renowned for the piety and virtue of its members. Owing to the early loss of his father, his education devolved upon his mother who devoted herself to his spiritual advancement.

Having studied theology at the University of Dole

University of Dole

The University of Dole was founded in 1422 by Philip the Good of Burgundy, and was a leading university in western Europe, historically notable for its teaching of canon and civil law...

, he fell under the influence of Berulle

Bérulle

Bérulle is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France.-Population:-References:*...

 and entered the Oratory in 1614, three years after its foundation. He was appointed director of the seminary at Langres

Langres

Langres is a commune in north-eastern France. It is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne département in the Champagne-Ardenne region.-History:As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then Lingones, and now Langres.The town is built on a limestone...

 but soon found his vocation in mission work among the poor.

His life was unmarked by any external event except the loss of sight which occurred in 1627, while he was preaching the Lenten course at Rouen, but this caused no cessation in his work. The bishops employed him in preaching the Lent and Advent courses and the Government in the conversion of Protestants. He avoided the custom of treating controversial matter in the pulpit and confined himself to the exposition of fundamental truths. It was a novel idea of his to introduce after his discourses an abridgement of Christian doctrine. He also held conferences for the instruction of the clergy in his methods and was recommended by Massillon to young ecclesiastics for their imitation.

The French Oratory was suspected of Jansenism

Jansenism

Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...

, and he was himself criticized on the ground that his preaching led to unsatisfactory results. In 1600 he appealed for advice to Antoine Arnauld

Antoine Arnauld

Antoine Arnauld — le Grand as contemporaries called him, to distinguish him from his father — was a French Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mathematician...

, who ascribed these results to the laxity of confessors under the influence of casuistry

Casuistry

In applied ethics, casuistry is case-based reasoning. Casuistry is used in juridical and ethical discussions of law and ethics, and often is a critique of principle- or rule-based reasoning...

, and dissuaded him from the design of abandoning his mission work.

Works

His sermons in twelve volumes were published at Toulouse, Paris, and Rouen before his death, and a Latin translation at Mainz in 1667. There is an edition published at Lyons in 1826, but the latest and best edition is that of Peltier in ten volumes issued in 1889. Four volumes of extracts also appeared at Avignon in 1825 under title of "Pensées du P. Lejeune".