Peter Fourier
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| Saint Peter Fourier | |
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| Born | November 30, 1565 |
| Died | December 9, 1640 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 1730 by Pope Benedict XIII |
| Canonized | 1897 by Pope Leo XIII |
| Feast | December 9 |
 Saints Portal |
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Peter Fourier (French: Pierre Fourier) (November 30, 1565 - December 9, 1640) was a French saint in the Roman Catholic Church and priest of Mattaincourt (Vosges) who founded the order of the Daughters of Our Lady order.[1]
He began his monastic career as a canon in the abbey at Chaumousey, and was ordained a priest at the extraordinary age of twenty-four. He was a scholastic theologian who knew the Summa Theologica by heart. In 1597, he was sent to Mattaincourt to shore up religious orthodoxy (i.e. to counter nascent Protestantism in the area). However, he instituted two major reforms that showed his intelligence and concern for his flock. The first of these was to improve the financial lives of his community by setting up a community bank. His second innovation was in his preaching style, where he employed dialogues. He had his pupils engage in dialectics on Sundays on the various virtues and vices in practice by the congregation. This style was immensely successful.
He founded a Congregation of Notre Dame known as the Daughters of Our Lady. This was exported to Canada by Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, and it has been highly successful both there and in the United States of America. He was beatified by Pope Benedict XIII in 1730 and canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1897. His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is December 9.
[edit] References
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"St. Peter Fourier". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
