Jacques-Désiré Laval
1803-1864 19th century Feast day: September 9
The freely accepted wearing-out of self in service of the poorest, and the trusting expectation of rest in God.
Who was Jacques-Désiré Laval?
A Norman country doctor who became a priest, he left in 1841 for Mauritius, just after the abolition of slavery. For twenty-three years he lived poorly among the freed slaves, training Creole catechists and visiting their homes one by one. At his death an immense crowd followed his coffin; his tomb remains a place of pilgrimage for the whole island, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims alike.
In their own words
I am in great haste to see the end of the miseries of life.
It is the good Lord who has done everything.