St. André-Hubert Fournet

St. André-Hubert Fournet (6 December 1752 – 13 May 1834) was a French priest born at Maillé near Poitiers. As a young man he was worldly and reluctant toward the priesthood, but a genuine conversion made him a zealous pastor. During the French Revolution he refused the schismatic Civil Constitution of the Clergy, ministered secretly to his people at great personal risk, and spent a period in exile in Spain before returning to serve his hidden flock.

With St. Jeanne-Élisabeth Bichier des Âges he co-founded the Daughters of the Cross, a congregation dedicated to nursing the sick, aiding the poor, and educating the young in the countryside. He guided the community with wisdom and holiness until his death, and stories of his charity and even of miraculous multiplications of food were told among those he served. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1933.