Father Dujarie Base

Father James=20 Dujarie=20

3D"Father Zeal and Vision
James Francis Dujarie was = born in=20 1767 in Rennes-en-Grenouilles, La Mayenne, France. In 1795, = at the=20 height of the Reign of Terror, he completed his seminary = studies and=20 was secretly ordained a priest for the Diocese of Le Mans. = He was=20 assigned then to the parish of Ruill=E9-sur-Loir where he = spent his=20 entire active priesthood. What is remarkable about Father = Dujarie is=20 the zeal and vision he put into rebuilding his parish and=20 surrounding area after the devastation wrought by the French = Revolution.

Founder of Two Religious = Communities
Taking responsibility for = the=20 education of youth, he first opened a school for girls. By = 1806, the=20 women he gathered for this effort had become known as the = Sisters of=20 Providence. Encouraged by the success of this religious = community,=20 Father Dujarie in 1820 began to organize a group of men to = also=20 provide for elementary education in the parish and diocese. = This=20 signals the beginning of the Brothers of St. Joseph. They = were=20 instructed by their founder, Father Dujarie: "Before all = things=20 else, let the Brothers teach children virtue and religion. = May they=20 bring them to know and love Jesus Christ." Within three = years, the=20 Brothers had been sent to nine schools, and by 1828, there = were=20 sixty Brothers.

Letting Go
Faced with increasing age and declining health, = Father=20 Dujarie realized that his two foundations would need to = continue=20 without him. The Sisters of Providence had already been = recognized=20 by the Holy See as a religious community and were continuing = to=20 extend their ministries. The Brothers were becoming well = known and=20 were in demand in schools and parishes. In 1835, Father = Dujarie=20 turned the administration of the Brothers of St. Joseph over = to=20 Father Basil Anthony Moreau, another zealous priest of the = Le Mans=20 Diocese. Father Dujarie moved to Sainte-Croix (Holy Cross), = a suburb=20 of Le Mans and the center of Father Moreau=92s activities. = After=20 seeing the future of the Brothers assured, Father Dujarie = went to=20 his eternal rest in 1838.

The=20 Congregation of Holy Cross Begins to Take = Shape
Just as Father Dujarie = sought to=20 respond to the pressing needs of his time, so too was Father = Basil=20 Moreau inspired. Father=20 Moreau gathered a band of diocesan priests to preach = missions=20 and to assist in parishes. After he assumed the = administration of=20 the Brothers of St. Joseph, his vision was to bring the = Brothers,=20 his Auxiliary Priests, and the Sisters at Sainte-Croix = together as=20 the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Contents of this page courtesy of the
South-West = Province=20 of the Congregation of Holy Cross