Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne

The turning point of his life occurred in 1677. During a visit, the parish priest of the neighboring village of Saxy-Bourdon addressed a fraternal but striking remark to him: "Saint Benedict was not so well off at Subiaco." This reminder of the figure of his spiritual father, who had chosen the poverty and solitude of a cave, deeply shook Jean-Baptiste. Conscious of having betrayed his vocation, he retired to the Abbey of Autun to perform a rigorous spiritual retreat. He returned from it profoundly transformed.

Back in Saint-Saulge, his gaze opened to the overwhelming misery of the peasants of his parish, severely tested by the wars of Louis XIV and the crushing weight of taxes. In 1680, eager to alleviate these sufferings, he proposed to a few pious young women of his parish, among whom were Marie Marchangy and Anne Legeai, to unite to dedicate themselves to the service of the most destitute. This was the founding act of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Instruction of Nevers (initially called the Sisters of Mercy).

Unlike the female religious orders of the time, which were strictly cloistered, Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne insisted that the sisters live "on the same level" as the population, without grilles or enclosures. In 1683, at the request of local authorities, the first sisters settled in Nevers to work at the general hospital. In 1685, the motherhouse and the novitiate of the congregation were permanently transferred there. The founder wrote for them constitutions and a demanding rule of life, centered on contemplative prayer and charitable action, which received the official approval of the Bishop of Nevers in 1698 and 1700.

The end of Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne's life was marked by painful trials and slander. While the Jansenist crisis was tearing the Church of France apart, the Bishop of Nevers, Mgr Édouard Bargedé, ordered in 1718 the surrender of all suspicious writings to the ecclesiastical registry. Dom Delaveyne, acting in complete good faith and obedience, handed over a copy of the work Augustinus. His detractors took advantage of this opportunity to falsely accuse him of Jansenism. As a consequence of these slanders, the bishop withdrew his faculties to preach and hear confessions. Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne accepted this unjust sanction with profound humility, refraining from any revolt and abandoning himself to the divine will. Exhausted by trials and deprivations, he passed away on June 5, 1719, in Nevers (or in Saint-Saulge according to certain local sources). He was buried in the parish church of Saint-Saulge. In the burial record, the parish priest Deparis noted that the pious monk died in the "odor of sanctity."

The cause for the beatification and canonization of Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne was officially introduced to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in the 20th century.

On May 14, 1991, Pope John Paul II signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his Christian virtues, thus conferring upon him the title of venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the Catholic Church requires the official recognition of a miracle performed through his intercession.

The spirituality bequeathed by Jean-Baptiste Delaveyne is profoundly Christocentric and Eucharistic. He invites his sisters to contemplate Christ unceasingly as the "great testimony of God's Love for men." For him, charitable action cannot bear fruit without being rooted in intense contemplative prayer. He summarizes this requirement with this famous exhortation addressed to his religious sisters: "Have no other business than that of Charity, no other interests than those of the unfortunate." The most famous legacy of his foundation is undoubtedly Saint Bernadette Soubirous. After the apparitions of Lourdes, the young visionary chose to join the Sisters of Charity of Nevers in 1866, drawn by their closeness to the poor and the sick. She lived there humbly as an infirmarian and sacristan until her death in 1879. Today, the congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nevers continues the work of its founder on four continents (Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia), bearing witness to God's tenderness toward marginalized and excluded persons.