André-Hubert Fournet

The major work of André-Hubert Fournet is the foundation of the congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, also known as the Sisters of Saint Andrew, which he established with Saint Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges. After the restoration of religious peace, Fournet, who had been the young woman's spiritual director since the years of persecution, encouraged her to gather companions for the Christian education of girls, especially the poorest, and the care of the sick. The first religious sisters pronounced their vows on August 12, 1807, an act generally accepted as the birth date of the congregation, of which Fournet was the spiritual father and director. In 1820, he resigned from his parish and retired to La Puye, where the motherhouse of the institute was established, in order to devote himself entirely to the guidance of the sisters. The congregation, approved under the pontificate of Pius VIII, spread throughout France and beyond, combining teaching and charity. The charism transmitted by Fournet—poverty, simplicity, and direct service to the poor—remained the hallmark of the institute. According to hagiographic tradition, he is said to have miraculously multiplied grain or bread to feed the community during times of famine.

The reputation for holiness of André-Hubert Fournet was forged first in trial. His fidelity to the Holy See during the Revolution, his refusal of the constitutional oath, and the clandestine ministry he exercised at the risk of his life made him a figure of a persecuted and exemplary priest. His conversion to radical poverty, the gift of his goods to the indigent, and the simplicity of his life nourished a concrete spirituality, turned toward the service of the poor and the sick. A sought-after director of souls, he accompanied numerous vocations, foremost among which was that of Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges, herself canonized in 1947. His renown for pastoral wisdom and zeal earned him, in later tradition, the comparison to the Curé of Ars and the title of 'second Curé of Ars.' The esteem he enjoyed during his lifetime, confirmed after his death by the devotion of the faithful and by the testimony of the Daughters of the Cross, founded the cause that led to his beatification and then to his canonization.

The cause of André-Hubert Fournet reached its conclusion under the pontificate of Pius XI. He was beatified on May 16, 1926, and then canonized on June 4, 1933, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, by the same Pope Pius XI, following the recognition of the required miracles attributed to his intercession. According to hagiographic sources, two miracles were accepted for the beatification and two others for the canonization. His liturgical memorial is celebrated on May 13, the anniversary of his death (dies natalis). It should be noted that the website of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints lists the date of May 18 for his death in some places, but all reference sources as well as the date of the feast confirm May 13, 1834. The co-founder of the congregation, Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges, was canonized on July 6, 1947, by Pope Pius XII, sealing the joint recognition of the work they had undertaken.

The legacy of André-Hubert Fournet is carried above all by the congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, known as the Sisters of Saint Andrew, which he founded with Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges and which still pursues a mission of education and service to the poor and the sick today, in France and in several other countries. The motherhouse of La Puye, in Vienne, where he lived his final years and where he died, remains the principal place of his memory and preserves his remembrance among the religious sisters and the faithful. His spirituality—fidelity to Christ even in persecution, evangelical poverty, and concrete charity—continues to inspire the institute and the Diocese of Poitiers, which honors him among its great figures. His feast day, May 13, is an occasion to recall the life of this priest who remained faithful during the revolutionary turmoil and became, through his conversion and his work, a model of priestly charity.