Ecclesiastical society founded in 1643, at Caen, France, by Saint John Eudes, for the education of priests in seminaries, and for the giving of missions. The society is not a religious order proper, but an ecclesiastical body under the immediate jurisdiction of the bishops. It is composed of priests, postulants, and lay-brothers. During the lifetime of Father Eudes the society established seminaries at Caen, Coutances, Lisieux, Rouen, Evreux, and Rennes. During the French Revolution, three Eudists, Fathers Hebert, Potier, and Lefranc, perished in Paris in the massacres of 1792, and the society was dispersed. Reestablished in 1826 by the surviving members, the order began to prosper in the latter half of the century. Too late to resume the direction of seminaries, the Eudists entered upon missionary work and secondary education in colleges. The "Law of Associations" (1906) ruined the establishments in France. Besides scholasticates in Belgium and Spain, the society conducts seminaries at Cartagena, Antioquia, Pamplona, and Panama, South America; and San Domingo, West Indies. In Canada they are entrusted with the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, a seminary at Halifax, Nova Scotia, a college at Church Point, New Brunswick, etc. in France, where the majority still remain, the Eudists continue to preach missions and to take part in various other works. Statistics: 40 houses, and about 600 members.
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