St John Regis

French Jesuit priest. Born near Narbonne in 1597, John Francis Regis was the son of a well-to-do merchant. He joined the Jesuits at 18 and was ordained in 1631. as a young priest he longed to work as a missionary among the North American Indians in Canada, but he was to live out his vocation in France, running missions in the very poor rural areas of the Auvergne and Languedoc.

A tireless preacher, many people were converted by him. He made great efforts to help prisoners and prostitutes - with little support from his superiors. He also set up many Confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament.

He encountered rigorous winters, snowdrifts and other deprivations, but continued preaching missions and earned a reputation as a saint. One man, entering the town of Saint-Andé, came upon a large crowd in front of a church and was told that people were waiting for 'the saint' who was coming to preach a mission.

St John Regis died on the evening of 31 December 1640, while on a preaching mission at La Louvesc in Dauphine. His final words were: "Into thy hands I commend my spirit."

He was canonised in 1737. His shrine at La Louvesc is still visited by many thousands each year.