Saint John Francis Regis - June 16th
Born 31 January 1597 France Died 31 December 1640 France
At 19, Saint Regis entered the Jesuit order and began to prepare for a priestly ministry that would save thousands of souls. He was ordained at the age of 34 and was then sent to the mission fields of France.
In the years since the Protestant Reformation, many French Catholics had become Protestant. Still others were so disillusioned by the Wars of Religion, that they had abandoned Christian faith, entirely. During Regis' day, parishes were known not to have administered the sacraments for twenty years. Many towns were entirely without priests and many of the priests who remained were woefully ill-educated and often ordained hurriedly in order to replace the thousands who had been martyred.
During this turbulent period, countless women were forced into prostitution because they had no other recourse for survival. Seeing the need to step in, Saint Regis, began to minister to prostitutes whenever possible, pounding on brothel doors and demanding that new “recruits” be given into his custody. Sometimes, he would see a woman being dragged off by an attacker and would throw himself upon the man, pulling the woman from the grasp of her assailant and allowing himself to be beaten instead.
He established safe houses for these at-risk women, whom he came to call “Daughters of Refuge”. Training in lacemaking and embroidery were provided at these locations, giving an alternate income to support the wayward. In addition, St. Regis founded a group of charitable women that helped feed many of the women and orphans during their transition into a productive life, and extended his protection by demanding and receiving, treatment for these abandoned victims of human trafficking, from doctors, nurses and pharmacists.
St. Regis had a relentless work ethic when committing himself to any project for the poor as well as an indominable zeal for God, by making himself available all hours of the day or night for confessions, counseling and evangelizing. But through all this, he was also known to have a very self-deprecating nature, never placing himself above anyone else. This is evident during an episode when a local man, whose life style was less than ideal, was approached by St Regis. While when trying to offer council, the man turned and struck him full in the face. St. Regis responded by saying the following: “If you knew me better, you would have hit me harder.”
On a more personal note, the then Father Regis, wasn’t always very well regarded by some of his brother Jesuits. This was because Father Regis was a hoarder. He was known to stock any available living space, no matter how small, with various articles until he could barely open the door to his room. But he wasn’t hoarding these items for himself. He just wanted to be prepared for any situation that called for God’s generosity to people in need, regardless of what others thought about his rather odd way of providing it.
It is reported, that Saint John Vianney testified to the intercession of St. John Francis Regis, while on his death bed, by saying: “Everything good, that I have done, I owe to him.”
**Although June 16 was established as his feast day, there are differing local and particular customs, including the Jesuits' celebration of his feast on July 2.