Fr. La Colombière (1)

Historical Elements[1]

Rare are the saints whom Our Lord Himself has eulogized. Fr. La Colombière is one of them, since in Paray-le-Monial, St. Margaret Mary heard the Sacred Heart promise her during a revelation: “I will send you my faithful servant and true friend, who will teach you to know me and to abandon yourself to me.”

An elite soul, the confessor and spiritual director of the confidante of the Sacred Heart sometimes remains in the shadows next to the great saint of Paray. For his honor, and for our benefit, he deserves, on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Sacred Heart, to be brought to light. 

Childhood

Fr. La Colombière[2] was born on February 2, 1641, in Saint-Symphorien d’Ozon, not far from Lyon. We know little about his early years, except that he received a profoundly Christian education. Indeed, of the five children raised by his parents (two died in the cradle), four would devote themselves to God. As for the eldest, Humbert, a distinguished member of the Parliament of Dauphiné and father of 13 children, it is said of him that he was a monk who remained in the world.

At the age of nine, Claude began his grammar classes at the Jesuit college of Notre-Dame du Bon-Secours, at the foot of the Fourvière hill in Lyon. Three years later, he crossed the Saone to continue his studies at the “grand-collège” of the Trinity, also run by the Jesuits, which was renowned for the quality of its teaching. He stayed there for five years, until 1658.

Formation 

At the age of 17, he turned to religious life, freely and generously, but not without a fight. Many years later, he confided to a mother who was blocking her daughter's vocation: “I had a horrible aversion to the life I had committed myself to when I became a religious.” But he also wrote: “Jesus Christ promised a hundredfold, and I can say that I have never done anything that I have not received, not a hundred times, but a thousand times more than I had given up.”[3]

On October 25, 1658, he presented himself to the Jesuit novitiate in Avignon where he remained for five years. In parallel with his religious training, he taught grammar and literature. His Novice Master noted him as an excellent candidate, giving this glowing assessment in his report to the Father General: “Remarkable talent; rare judgment; compete prudence; fairly extensive experience; he began his studies well…; fit for any ministry.”

Aware that he had an elite religious figure in Claude, in 1666 the Father General sent him to pursue his theological formation in Paris, at the great Collège de Clermont (today Louis the Great). As one might expect, he received a resolutely anti-Jansenist formation there. Although he did not take part directly in the virulent debates, he witnessed them. Parisian life at this time offered a spectacle of the best and the worst: while the movement of fervor initiated by the French School of Spirituality bore fruit, it was also the time of the Affair of the Poisons[4]. 

He was probably also tutor to Colbert's sons at the same time. The academic success of the latter's eldest probably earned Claude a certain reputation. He then mixed with people from Parisian high society. Towards the end of his studies, on April 6, 1669, the eve of Passion Sunday, he was ordained a priest for eternity.

In 1670, he returned to the Collège de la Trinité in Lyon, where he was entrusted with the chair of rhetoric. Two years later, he was appointed preacher in the church of the same college (a ministry to people outside the college itself). In this context, he preached to part of the Lyon elite.

In 1674-1675, he completed his “third year” in the Jesuit house on the Ainay peninsula in Lyon: St. Ignatius had wanted his sons to live a second novitiate (called the third year, to complete the first two years) after their long formation, before taking their perpetual vows. It was then possible for them, with more maturity and perspective, to return to the fundamentals of their religious life and take stock of their fidelity to their vocation.

It is in this context that the Jesuits followed the 30-day Spiritual Exercises. Fr. La Colombière was no exception to the rule and this time would prove to be fundamental for his spiritual progress: he pronounced the vow of unreserved fidelity to his rule. He left us his retreat notes, the centerpiece of his works.

Paray-le-Monial

It was at the end of this year that he was sent by his superiors to the humble village of Paray-le-Monial where the Jesuits had a municipal college. A surprising decision at first, for someone of Claude's stature, accustomed to large audiences. His Provincial, Fr. de la Chaize[5], who knew him well, had his reasons. We now know that it was a mark of confidence.

In addition to being superior of a small community and a college (also small), he was to be extraordinary confessor of the Visitation nuns where he would have to discern the origin of extraordinary facts. Fr. de la Chaize knew this. Indeed, in the Visitation Monastery of Paray-le-Monial, founded in 1626 (during the lifetime of the foundress, St. Jeanne de Chantal), lived a privileged soul, a confidante of the Sacred Heart, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

Even before entering the convent, this young girl from Verosvres (located about 20 kilometers away), received revelations from Our Lord who formed her spiritually. Over time, she also received missions from him: the mission of making known the love of His Sacred Heart, of spreading the reparative devotion (particularly on the first Fridays of the month), of requesting a liturgical feast in honor of the Sacred Heart, the mission of spiritual renewal of her convent, etc.

As was fitting, her superiors were anxious to test the authenticity of these revelations. One of them, in particular, Mother de Saumaise, had her examined by men of doctrine… one of whom concluded peremptorily: “Make this girl eat soup, and everything will be better.” These procrastinations caused the saint great anxiety, making her fear that she was the devil’s plaything.

Out of obedience to her superiors, she resisted the revelations she received. It was then that she received the promise already quoted: “I will send you my faithful servant and true friend who will teach you to know me and to abandon yourself to me.”

Some time later, in February 1675, Fr. La Colombière was presented to the community, and Margaret Mary heard the voice of her divine confidant designate him: “Here is the one I am sending to you.” Very quickly, Claude recognized the mark of the divine spirit in these revelations. Not only did he encourage Sr. Margaret Mary to conform to them, but he allowed himself to be guided by them, notably by devoting himself to the Sacred Heart.

One morning, Father celebrated Mass for the nuns. At the moment of communion, as a painting that later became famous would depict, St. Margaret Mary saw the Sacred Heart “like a blazing furnace, and two other hearts [hers and the celebrant’s] that were about to unite to it and be consumed by it” Our Lord said to her: “This is how My pure love unites these three hearts forever.” There was therefore a true exchange between the two souls, around the Sacred Heart.

Father comforted, reassured, and enlightened the nun, while she transmitted messages from Our Lord for his own progress, and to make them known to others: “He (Christ) wanted me to reveal to him [Fr. La Colombière] the treasures of this Heart, so that he would make them known and publish their price and usefulness.”

During the "great revelation" of June 1675, Our Lord indicated to St. Margaret Mary: “Speak to my servant N.[6], and tell him on my behalf to do his best to establish this devotion and give this pleasure to My divine Heart; let him not be discouraged by the difficulties he will encounter, for there will be no shortage of them; but he must know that he is all-powerful who completely distrusts himself to entrust himself only to Me.”

Having entrusted him with such a mission, Providence, apparently, did not leave Fr. La Colombière much time to carry it out. The message is dated June 1675. However, a little over a year later, in October 1676, he received a particularly delicate mission from his superiors: he was appointed preacher to the Princess of York in London.

Before explaining the purpose and difficulty of this task, let us specify that when he left Paray, Fr. La Colombière did not take any steps towards the recognition of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Undoubtedly, he did not want to rush things.

London

England at that time was virulently anti-Catholic. Parliament was especially critical, because although King Charles II was officially Anglican, he himself was not against the Catholic religion. His brother, James of York, even less so, since he had converted to Catholicism. He entered into a second marriage with Marie-Béatrice of Modena, who was very pious (she was even destined for religious life). The marriage had been concluded, with the guarantee given by Louis XIV, that King Charles II would grant his sister-in-law “the right of chapel and other advantages and freedoms for the Catholic religion.[7]”

It was in this context that Claude arrived at the Court of London on October 13, 1676. He did as much good as he could in this difficult context, where any kind of “proselytism” was suspect. With his valuable advice, he forged in the young duchess an elite soul that would later be able to bear the trials of mourning and exile with admirable abandon.

His preaching in the chapel of St. James's Palace, where the Duke of York and his wife lived, echoed - without naming it - the message of the Sacred Heart. He also carried out an intense activity of correspondence and spiritual direction, where he kept in touch with Paray-le-Monial. Furthermore, the London climate to which he was not accustomed made him ill with consumption: from then on he was regularly subject to spitting blood.

In 1678, the “Papist plot” broke out, or, more precisely, the anti-Papist plot. A sinister character, Titus Oates, invented from scratch a conspiracy of Catholics against the king[8], in order to unleash a fearful persecution against them (and particularly against the Jesuits[9]). For the Jesuits alone, it resulted in 23 death sentences and 147 deaths in prison.

On the night of November 12-13, Fr. La Colombière was arrested and imprisoned, following slanderous accusations from a former convert to Catholicism whom he had taken under his protection. After a sham trial in which a false witness was hired to complete the first accusation, the judges themselves finally realized the futility of the affair. Rather than condemning him to death, they asked the king to banish him.

The latter was not at ease: he did not take this farce of the “Papist plot” seriously, but it was difficult for him to resist the pressure from Parliament and the population. In the particular case of Fr. La Colombière, he was also embarrassed to break his word, since he had promised Louis XIV that the Duchess of York would have a chaplain.

He therefore hesitated, and during this time, the prisoner’s already fragile health was ruined by his time in the dungeon. After about two months of captivity, Claude was finally released and expelled from England. However, the state of his health was such that the king authorized him to convalesce for ten days before setting sail. This prison episode would be fatal for his health.

Last Years and Death

The return to France was bitter. With difficulty, he returned to Lyon, passing through Dijon and Paray-le-Monial where he stayed for ten days. There he reassured St. Margaret Mary, who was suffering persecution from her sisters. 

In Lyon, he tried to restore his fluctuating health: he stayed in his native country two times at St. Symphorien-sur-Ozon, where it was hoped that the fresh air would help him get back on his feet. Apart from correspondence, his only ministry was to look after about 15 religious who had to complete their studies in philosophy. He did not forget the mission given by the Sacred Heart, and encouraged his correspondents to reparative devotion.

Finally, in August 1681, he was sent again to Paray-le-Monial. By then, his weakness was such that "he must be dressed and undressed." On January 29 of the following year, when, on the doctor's instructions, he was preparing to return to Saint-Symphorien, he received the following note from St. Margaret Mary: “He (the Sacred Heart) told me that He would like the sacrifice of your life in this country.” On the evening of February 15, he died at the age of 41. 

To her mother superior who invited her to pray for the Father, St. Margaret Mary would reply: “My dear Mother, there is no need; he is in a state to pray to God for us, being well placed in heaven, by the goodness and mercy of the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. Only, to satisfy some negligence that remained in him in the exercise of divine love, his soul was deprived of seeing God from the moment he left his body until the moment he was laid in the tomb.[10]”
 

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[1] We rely on the biography written by Fr. Georges Guitton, SJ: Perfect friend; the life of Blessed Claude La Colombière, S.J., 1641-1682 [Le Père La Colombière, son milieu et son temps,] B. Herder Book Co, St. Louis, 1956.

[2] The spelling of his surname is quite variable. He is from a noble family, but it seems that most of the documents of the time indicate “Claude La Colombière,” and not “de la Colombière.”

[3] Works, II, 99.

[4] A major murder scandal in France during the reign of King Louis XIV. Between 1677 and 1682, a number of prominent members of the aristocracy were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcraft.

[5] Who would later become confessor to Louis XIV.

[6] This is indeed Fr. La Colombière.

[7] The marriage took place with the full consent of the King of England, and the support of the King of France. The English Parliament was opposed to it.

[8] History has made light of these slanderous accusations. The only political maneuvers that some Catholics were able to develop (perhaps with a lack of prudence) aimed at granting greater freedom to the true religion, and in no case at overthrowing the power in place.

[9] The sum promised was 20 pounds sterling for the denunciation of a priest, and 100 for a Jesuit.

[10] He was buried the day after his death, in the morning.

(Source : Marchons Droit – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : See page for author, Domaine public, via Wikimedia Commons