Pierre-Joseph Cassant (6 March 1878 – 17 June 1903) was a French

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and professed member of the

Trappists The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

. During his novitiate he received the religious name of Marie-Joseph and was known for his strong determination to his studies to fulfil his lifelong wish of being

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood. Cassant suffered from extreme

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

around the time of his ordination and died not long after he was made a priest.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

celebrated his beatification on 3 October 2004.

Life

Pierre-Joseph Cassant was born on 6 March 1878 in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to parents who were orchard-keepers as the second child born to them; his older brother was Emile (b. 1869) who was nine at the time of Cassant's birth. He was a lodger at a boarding school that the

De La Salle Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...

ran and it was here that his abilities in memorizing things were quite diminished and led to increasing learning difficulties. Despite these failings he was seen as a quiet and caring child. It was at the age of 14 that he realized that he wanted to become a

but learning difficulties prevented him from entering the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

, so went to the parish priest Father Filhol for advice; he suggested he seek out the

. Cassant entered a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

convent in Sainte-Marie du Désert on 5 December 1894 where he was placed under the charge of Father André Mallet who said to him: "only trust and I will help you to love

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

". During his novitiate he received the name of "Marie-Joseph" and he often spent time meditating upon Christ in his Passion and on the Cross, and he depended on Him for strength during his studies. To further advance his chances of studying for the priesthood, he underwent further studies of the French language and began to learn

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. It was around this time that he formed his personal motto, "all for Jesus, all through

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

". He made his final vows on the

Feast of the Ascension The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...

on 24 May 1900. From this point onwards he focused on becoming a priest and he viewed

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

in relation to the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

as being a critical facet of the duties of a priest. Around this time, at the age of 21, he was summoned for mandatory military service and was discharged for reasons of health in March 1900. He commenced his theological studies for the priesthood and suffered difficulties in doing so due to the same issue that plagued him when he was in school. The monk assigned to teach him humiliated and ridiculed him in public and said: "You are totally limited! It is useless for you to study. You will not learn any more. To ordain you would be a dishonor to the priesthood", yet Mallet assisted him with the course. Among his fellow seminarians he became well regarded, and some said of him: "He was always happy. It's what made the beauty of his face". Despite difficulties he was ordained as a priest on 12 October 1902. Immediately after this on 13 October, he was granted seven weeks of rest due to the advancement of

he suffered. Despite his time of rest, his lungs were damaged beyond the point of repair and it made his breathing ever more difficult, and his health continued to worsen when he returned to the monastery on 2 December 1902. In his illness it was Mallet who became his close aid and support. Cassant said "when I can no longer say Mass, Jesus can take me from this world", in relation to his rapidly declining health. Cassant became part of the Association of Victim Souls dedicated to the oblation of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

of Jesus Christ and signed an Act of Oblation to emulate the tenets of the organization. Cassant followed in the footsteps of those who were part of the congregation such as

Charles de Foucauld Charles Eugène, vicomte de Foucauld de Pontbriand, (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916), commonly known as Charles de Foucauld, was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuare ...

Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, (, ; born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954) was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member of the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his death. He ...

, and Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, the future

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

. Cassant celebrated his final Mass on 31 May 1903 and received the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

on the following 1 June. He died of tuberculosis in the dawn of 17 June 1903 after receiving Communion during a private Mass that Mallet celebrated for him; his final words were: "Jesus, Mary,

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

, assist me in my last agony". Since his death there have been more than 2200 people from 30 countries that have reported miracles attributed to his intercession.

Beatification

The beatification process opened in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in 1935. Cassant's spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 22 November 1939, and his cause was formally opened 19 February 1956 under

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

, granting him the title

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. Following this there was one final process to continue the work of the first process. Once that was completed the postulation compiled the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

for the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

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to evaluate.

proclaimed him to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 9 June 1984 on the account of his model Christian life of

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

and beatified him on 3 October 2004 after the approval of a miracle: the healing of a nine year old from cerebrospinal meningitis who was healed a day after praying to Cassant. The current postulator of the cause is Sister Augusta Tescari.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassant, Pierre-Joseph 1878 births 1903 deaths 19th-century venerated Christians 19th-century French people 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century French Roman Catholic priests French beatified people Beatifications by Pope John Paul II People from Lot-et-Garonne Trappists Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in France Trappist beatified people