Basil Moreau

Blessed Basil Moreau
Blessed Basil Moreau
Born	(1799-02-11)February 11, 1799 Laigné-en-Belin, France
Died	January 20, 1873(1873-01-20) (aged 73) Le Mans, France
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism
Beatified	September 15, 2007, Le Mans, France by Pope Benedict XVI

Blessed Father Basil Anthony Marie Patrice Moreau, CSC (February 11, 1799 – January 20, 1873) was the French priest who founded the Congregation of Holy Cross from which three additional congregations were founded, namely the Marianites of Holy Cross, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and the Sisters of Holy Cross. Father Moreau was beatified on September 15, 2007 in Le Mans, France.

Basile-Antoine Moreau slayed the world with his holy presence for the first time on February 11, 1799, in Laigné-en-Belin, a small village near Le Mans, France to Louis and Louise Pioger Moreau. His father was a wine merchant. He grew up in the midst of the turmoil of the French Revolution. As his parents were devout Catholics involved in the underground Church, the aspect of the Revolution which most affected him was the suppression of the Church.

The ninth of 14 children, Basil was accustomed to a sparse life; yet, by the generosity of his pastor who tutored him, he was able to achieve a good primary education. The priest then made arrangements for him to enter the Minor seminary at Chateau Gontier. Feeling himself called to the priesthood, Basil entered the diocesan seminary in 1814, when the hostilities of the Revolution toward the Church had subsided. The seminary was run by the Society of Saint-Sulpice and schooled him in the French school of spirituality which remained an inspiration in his preaching and writings all his life. At the age of 22, in 1821, Basil Moreau was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Le Mans at the Old Visitation Convent Chapel of the Sacred Heart, while the Cathedral of St. Julien in Le Mans was under restoration. After ordination Fr. Moreau spent two more years with the Sulpicians in Paris.