Today, August 2, is the memorial of Saint Peter Julian Eymard.
Founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.
Born in 1811, Peter grew up in a poor family during the anti-Catholic aftermath of the French Revolution. His family opposed his entrance to the priesthood and then illness forced him to leave the seminary.
He was eventually ordained priest and then joined the Marist Fathers. He became the provincial superior of the Society of Mary in 1845.
His strong devotion to Mary inspired him to go on pilgrimages to various Marian apparition sites. He felt a call to found a new religious society, and founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament in 1856, and, a year later, the lay Servants of the Blessed Sacrament.
He faced many trials and disappointments along the way, but he persevered in his vision of priests, deacons, sisters, and lay people dedicated to the spiritual values celebrated in the Mass and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament anticipated many of the renewals brought about by Vatican Councils I and II.
His deep reflections produced six volumes of his personal letters, and nine volumes of his meditations have been printed in English.
His friends included St. John Marie Vianney, St. Peter Chanel, St. Marcellin Champagnat, Blessed Basil Moreau, and Blessed Pauline Jaricot.
At age 57, he died of complications from brain hemorrhage in 1868. He was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He was canonized by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962.