founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudist Fathers), an order dedicated to the training of candidates for the priesthood and to the preaching of missions.

Educated by the Jesuits at Caen, John Eudes entered the Bérullian Oratory and in 1625 was ordained priest. A noted orator, he devoted 50 years to the preaching of parish missions. For the education and rehabilitation of delinquent girls and women, he established the Order of Our Lady of Charity (1641). Two years later he founded the Eudist Fathers. His most revered achievement was promoting the devotions to the Sacred Hearts (Sacred Heart) of Jesus and Mary; he established the first feasts in their honour, for which he wrote the mass and office.