By CAROLE BRESLIN
In the Catholic Church, there are many examples throughout history of religious orders that have been reformed or have been in need of reform. After many years the members of religious orders tend to relax rules until they do not live much differently than the laity. It seems that discipline and fervor are closely related — without one you will not have the other.
St. Peter Fourier recognized this truth both in his personal life and the life of both the parishioners he guided and the order that he later reformed in the late 1500s.
Peter Fourier was the eldest of three sons, born on November 30, 1565 in Mirecourt, France. This village was located in the Duchy of Lorraine, a stronghold of the Catholic Counterreformation. His father was a cloth merchant and his mother a homemaker — both were faithful and fervent Catholics.
Peter received an education in his younger years, perhaps at home, and at the age of 15 his father sent him to the new University of Pont-a-Mousson, a Jesuit institution. Later, it became the University of Lorraine.
In 1585, at the age of 20, Peter entered the novitiate of the canons regular of the Abbey of Chaumousey. Two years later, in 1587 he professed his vows. In Treves, Peter was ordained at the unusually young age of 23 on February 24, 1589.
After Peter’s Ordination, his abbot sent him back to the University of Pont-a-Mousson where he completed his studies as a scholastic theologian. So great were his abilities that he memorized the entire Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas — a 26-volume work on the teachings of the Catholic Church. This feat led the university administrators and the count-bishop of Metz to offer him a high position in the Church there; but Peter refused, preferring to return to his abbey.
Without delay, Fourier suffered ridicule and persecution from his fellow canons. Some claim that there were also attempts to poison the saint because the canons’ animosity for the learned man was so great. This hostile treatment lasted for two long years during which time Fr. Fourier never complained to his abbot, bearing the wrongs patiently.
During this era, many abbeys and priories supplied priests to the parishes in the region to administer the sacraments. Peter Fourier chose to go to a parish in Mattaincourt, even though he had been offered other more prestigious positions. Fr. Fourier preferred to work with the people to increase their love of the faith, and to preach against the influence of Calvinism. He spent the next two decades working as the vicar to save souls.
To enliven the faith life of his people, Fr. Fourier instituted two major reforms in the parish which clearly demonstrate his uncommon wisdom and deep compassion for the people.
First of all, with the objective of improving lives in an economic way, he began a bank for the community. This enabled people to borrow money without interest so that they could invest it in ways to provide an income to support their families.
Secondly, rather than preach from a superior and heightened position, he came down to their level and engaged them in conversation. Thus he not only discovered how well — or how little — they knew the basic teachings of Catholicism. In this manner he could teach by asking questions similar to the way Jesus did in the Temple during the three days Mary and Joseph searched for Him.
This method proved successful since his flock did not feel humiliated. Furthermore, the parishioners did not just listen and then forget what they heard, but they would take time to reason out the answer and reach the proper conclusion with his guidance, thus becoming more deeply integrated into the learning process.
Fr. Fourier also used dialogues and discussions to engage people in considering the virtues and the vices that they witnessed in their daily lives. Thus they became more conscious of the short-term and the long-lasting consequences of their actions — those very things for which we will be judged in eternal life.
As a pastor, Fr. Fourier also led by example. He lived simply, practicing extra self-denial in many ways. He never employed a cook or a cleaning woman. Even when his stepmother offered to do housekeeping, he refused her offer. The money he saved, he gave to the poor of the parish. As any pastor serving God would do, Fr. Fourier also spent many nights ministering to the sick in his area and helping the poor.
The parish then became increasingly vibrant and he revitalized the faith of the people so much that the bishop invited Fr. Fourier to preach at other parishes. His new responsibility surprised him as he became more exposed to the deplorable conditions of the people. He wondered how they could know so little of the faith and be so steeped in superstitions.
In 1597, to help combat the problems he witnessed, he worked with Blessed Alix Le Clerc and founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Canonesses Regular of St. Augustine. These women were dedicated to educating children for free — their fourth vow, after poverty, chastity, and obedience.
In this endeavor, Father was not just an administrator but also took a great interest in the welfare of the children. He also taught them in the classrooms and is credited with being the first person to make use of a chalkboard. In addition, he is also known to have begun the organization of classrooms based on knowledge rather than on age.
Once again his efforts, by the grace of God, met with great success. Soon these schools spread throughout France and then to England and Germany.
His great love of Christ spurred him on to do even more for the glory of God. Fr. Fourier next directed his efforts to reform his order to increase the members’ fervor and discipline. Again his success became so well-known that Bishop Jean des Porcelets of Toul appointed the priest to reform the communities in the diocese, including the Abbey of St. Remy.
Father joyfully assumed this new responsibility, returning to the quiet of the abbey that he loved so much. Within four years eight houses had been reformed under his guidance.
The reform continued and soon the abbeys were organized into new congregations in 1625. Anyone wishing to join these new congregations, even though they may have already taken vows, had to begin in the novitiate. On February 11, 1628 the abbeys were formally recognized as the Congregation of Our Savior.
The same year that Fr. Fourier was elected abbot general, 1632, Cardinal Richelieu, a favorite of King Louis XIII, forced the congregation to flee to the town of Gray in Burgundy where the priests ministered to the victims of the plague. Fr. Fourier died in Gray on December 9, 1640. His feast is celebrated on December 9.
Dear St. Peter Fourier, how you loved the Lord and longed to show others the way to a deeper love of His Most Sacred Heart. Help us to learn our faith well and to pass it on to others for the greater glory of God. Amen.
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(Carole Breslin home-schooled her four daughters and served as treasurer of the Michigan Catholic Home Educators for eight years. For over ten years, she was national coordinator for the Marian Catechists, founded by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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