Propagation of Faith

The Pontifical Society for the Propagation of Faith

Pauline Marie Jaricot, was born in Lyon, France, on 22nd July 1799. She had a happy and spoiled childhood, in a very wealthy family.

Entering her teens, Pauline had a severe fall which caused her a long and painful  It was precisely during this time, she began to feel a profound closeness to God.

On Christmas eve 1816, Pauline made a vow of chastity and found the reasons for her life in the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist and in the preparation of the offenses  against the sacred heart of Jesus.

In 1818, Pauline influenced by a booklet issued by the ‘Foreign Missions of Paris’ (MEP) and helped by some of the girls working in her father’s factories, assumed the dimensions of prayer and mission animation, with the optional weekly offer of a penny in order to cooperate in the spreading of the Gospel. Thus an action group of ten people was born, each of whom was committed to find ten other people who were ready to pray and donate a penny for the Missions. This spread like wildfire.

In fact in October 1820, there were more then five hundred members, called by ‘Association of the Propagation of Faith’ which led to its official recognition on the 3rd May 1822. This Association was called ‘Pontifical’ by Pope Pius XI in May 1922.

Pauline Jaricot died on 9th January 1862. In 1962, she was called ‘venerable’ by Pope John XXIII. In the  very near future, she will be declared ‘venerable’ while a miracle was recognised  through her intercession on 26th May 2020.

This year 2022 the Church will celebrate the beatification of Pauline Jaricot.

For this celebration a website dedicated to Pauline Jaricot is launched and can be seen here

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