CJM News · Archive
Saint François de Laval, First Bishop of Quebec
During the upcoming meeting of the General Council of the Congregation of the Eudists, November 8–17, the Community of Priests of the Quebec Seminary, founded by Saint François de Laval, will host the Eudist members of this Council.
This is a unique opportunity for us to recall the bonds that united Saint François de Laval and Saint Jean Eudes during their time in the city of Caen, Normandy, until the arrival of the founders and foundresses of the Church in New France.
At different times, two of the community’s renowned historians sought to raise awareness among readers in Quebec and France of the bonds of friendship that existed between the Norman apostles and the young Church in Canada.
Their writings, published in Eudist and Canadian journals, have become virtually inaccessible. We are pleased to share with you a wealth of memories preserved in the recollections of the Congregation’s elders.
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Launch of the Eudist Preparatory Year in Tagaytay—1 New Member and 4 New Candidates
On July 10, we joyfully launched the Eudist preparatory year in Tagaytay, Philippines, with 5 candidates. We count on your prayers for this dual mission of vocation ministry and the formation of our candidates. The second photo was taken during our visit with the Bishop of Tagaytay. — Edem Afoutou, c.j.m., Vicar for the Philippines.
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The candidates: JC, Yves, Anthony Pham from Vietnam, Jiovanne, and Jiorne.
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Invitation to a Time of Prayer Together
Holy Week
That gathers our lives, our joys, our sorrows
The Tragedies of the World—its Wars, its Hatred, its Hunger
Those Wounded by Life, the Broken-hearted, Those Who Will Die Abandoned
You look upon us with a gaze full of love,
full of salvation and the promise of peace
Do not let us forget your blessed presence among the most unfortunate
Let us hear the words of our Father: “You are my Beloved Son”
And may your Spirit breathe upon us once more today to restore us to life
I invite you to pray with me
for all those dear to us and all those who have been forgotten
during a few minutes of quiet beauty,
as we recall the final acts of the people of Jesus’ time
who, with great respect, laid him to rest in the Garden
Wishing you a blessed preparation for Easter!
Gilles Ouellet,Vicar for North America, Quebec, March 25, 2024
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On the occasion of the 422nd anniversary of the birth of Saint John Eudes
A Message of Thanks from the Eudist Provinces of Latin America
As the time has come for you to undergo an institutional change, we wish to stand with you—as the Provinces of Latin America (PEMD, Colombia, and Venezuela)—especially on behalf of our Provincials, Fathers Camilo Bernal, Pedro Pablo Múnera, and Rafael Viloria, and all our confreres, seminarians, and associates, through this brief message, to express our immense affection and gratitude, precisely on this day marking the birth of Saint John Eudes, our founder.
Read the message from November 14, 2023
Dear Eudist community in North America and the Philippines,
As the time has come for you to undergo an institutional change, we wish to stand with you—as the Provinces of Latin America (PEMD, Colombia, and Venezuela)—especially on behalf of our Provincials, Fathers Camilo Bernal, Pedro Pablo Múnera, and Rafael Viloria, and all our confreres, seminarians, and associates, through this brief message, to express our immense affection and gratitude, precisely on this day marking the birth of Saint John Eudes, our founder.
Throughout the history of the Eudists in these lands of Canada and the United States, we have discovered the special gift that the Lord has bestowed upon the Congregation through the presence of so many confreres and works of evangelization that have shaped the future of the Church and society in these contexts, as well as in other places where the Congregation was sent by His divine Will and where progress has been made. We are aware that the Congregation in this Province has been a wonderful gift and a responsibility, one of great generosity—not only in terms of financial support, but above all because of the confreres who gave of themselves to leave North America and set out for other countries and cultures. What a wonderful witness!
We know that preparing for this specific moment has not been easy, but at the same time we look to the future with hope. It has been a judicious, thoughtful, and collaborative process, carried out in a true spirit of communion and participation, led by the Provincial Council and together with Father General, Jean Michel Amouriaux.
We wish to thank the Lord for the grace that the lives of so many men have meant for this particular Church in Canada and the United States—men who, throughout the last century, encountered Jesus Christ, to whom they gave their entire lives, helping so many others to experience the merciful love of the Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary. Their encounter with the Lord made them happy; they found meaning in their lives because “you have made us, Lord, for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you” (cf. St. Augustine). They knew how to share this profound experience with the world in which they lived, hand in hand with simplicity and poverty, as worthy heirs of St. John Eudes.
Only God, who knows the truth of all things, knows everything that has been lived and accomplished among you and knows the love that has been poured out from this place upon our Church and our world for the entire Congregation.
A new stage is beginning for everyone: for you, in particular, both members and associates. At this stage, you will continue to encounter the same Lord Jesus Christ to whom you have given your lives. But also for our Church and the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, called to an internal renewal as well as a renewal of their structures. This involves a conversion that leads us to discover the treasure that apostolic life in community represents today—as the society of apostolic life that we are—and the need to continue asking the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest.
Thank you, dear Brothers, from the bottom of our hearts, for your lives, for your example, for your silence, for your hospitality, for your poverty—you always speak to us of God. We entrust you in a special way to Our Mother the Virgin Mary, to Saint Francis de Laval, to Saint John Eudes, and to the saints and blessed of the Eudist Family.
With our gratitude, please also accept our fraternal embrace; we continue to pray and live out Eudist fraternity with all of you.
May God always bless you.
The Eudists of the Latin American Provinces
CJM News · Archive
Congregational Council 2024
Greetings to all the incorporated brothers, candidates, and associates of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. We have begun our Congregation Council, which is a very important governing body in the life of our provinces. The General Council and the Superior General, together with all the provincials and, on this occasion, a representative of the associates, are meeting in Bogotá at the Valmaría house of the Province of Colombia to address all the important issues facing the Congregation and to hear the various reports from each province and the projects that have been underway since the last General Assembly.
We thank God for all that He continues to do for the Congregation, and we ask all of you to continue praying for this meeting and for all the Congregation’s projects. May God bless you.
Martín Solano, Vicar General
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Feast of St. John Eudes · August 19, 2023
We are delighted to celebrate the feast of Saint John Eudes throughout the Congregation and the Eudist family; there are preparatory novenas, scheduled gatherings, and liturgical celebrations. We are proud that Saint John Eudes is our founder; he continues to teach us, and we find in him our deepest inspiration.
I hope that we can experience this feast and honor our founder by renewing our desire for greater fidelity, particularly in light of three characteristics of John Eudes’ life that he has bequeathed to us as a treasure—a precious legacy to be cherished.
CJM News · Archive
Bishop Juan Carlos Londoño Appointed Auxiliary Bishop in Quebec City
CJM News · Archive
Tribute to Nicolas de Medeiros
Our associate brother from Africa passed away in December 2023.
The audio recording of the homily is currently unavailable on the source.
CJM News · Archive
The Eudists of the African Province: committed to serving the Church and society, particularly in education, pastoral ministry, and the apostolate.
In Africa, the Eudists have made a significant contribution to the education and formation of young people. They have established schools and colleges that offer a quality education to students. They emphasize the integral development of the person, highlighting human and Christian values.
Here are some songs suggested by the Eudist Formation House in Africa. Click on the images to open the video.
CJM News · Archive
Paul Zogbladan, C.J.M., New Provincial Superior of Africa
Father Paul Zogbladan addressed the province and the congregation on the occasion of his appointment as Provincial Superior of Africa. We give thanks to God for the beginning of his journey at the head of this new province. We unite in prayer for the work he will carry out from now on together with the government of the entire congregation.
Martín Solano, Vicar General
CJM News · Archive
Let’s Hit the Road, Jesus!
“Let’s Go, Jesus!” takes us on the road with religious and laypeople who live out the Church’s mission of reaching out. Father Gilles Rousselet travels by RV to the twenty-seven churches in his parish to meet with residents—who are rarely practicing, sometimes isolated, and often welcoming. - KTO TV
See how this Eudist from France is carrying out this remarkable mission.
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François Thibodeau
François Thibodeau
At the Domaine Mahonia Residence in Quebec City, on June 26, 2023, at the age of 83 years and 11 months, His Excellency Bishop François Thibodeau, C.J.M., Bishop Emeritus of Edmundston, passed away. Born in St-Odilon on July 27, 1939, he was the seventh of twelve children of the late Hormidas Thibodeau and the late Yvonne Poulin.
The family will welcome visitors for the viewing at the
Lépine Cloutier Funeral Home
1500 Wilfrid-Hamel Blvd. West
Quebec City, QC G1N 3Y6
Monday, July 3, 2023, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
A diocesan funeral service will then be held on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. (Maritime Time), at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Edmundston, followed by interment in the cathedral’s crypt. The body will lie in repose in the chapel of rest that morning starting at 11:00 a.m.
Gilles Ouellet, C.J.M.
Obituary ↗
Writings and More ↗
CJM News · Archive
Jorge Luis Baquero, C.J.M.
For candidate Jorge Luis Baquero, Christian happiness can be understood in two ways: “As a gift in which the Lord, at a certain moment in life, reveals Himself to you, and we experience Him in our daily situations and experiences.”
Jorge Luis Baquero recounts that it was at the age of 17 that he came to know God more intimately, feeling touched and loved, which set him on an ongoing journey where he experienced happiness as a task because it involves a decision on his part: “to understand the freedom to live exclusively for the One who has loved him.”
READ THE ARTICLE: AN EUDIST ON MISSION ↗
