Maurice-Marie-Matthieu Garrigou

Maurice Garrigou became involved in the "Association of Friends" (the Toulouse Aa) to train the clergy. In 1804, he founded the Affiliation to the Pious Confraternity of the Sacred Heart and the Congregation of the Holy Thorn. He also co-founded the Work of the Wounds (the Ladies of Compassion) to care for the poor sick. His major work is the Congregation of the Religious of Our Lady of Compassion, founded on November 2, 1817, in Toulouse with Jeanne-Marie Desclaux. This congregation is dedicated to the education of girls and the care of the poor, later expanding in France and abroad (Spain, Argentina, Peru, Cameroon, Venezuela, Colombia).

Nicknamed the "Toulouse Saint Vincent de Paul," Maurice Garrigou is recognized for his heroic charity, his humility, and his poverty. His informative beatification process opened in the diocese of Toulouse on March 12, 1954, and closed on April 14, 1961. The Holy See granted the decree of nihil obstat on March 6, 2001, and the congress of theologians validated the examination of his heroic virtues in 2012.

On December 9, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Maurice-Marie-Matthieu Garrigou, officially declaring him Venerable. His cause for beatification is ongoing, requiring the official recognition of a miracle. An investigation into an unexplained healing is currently under study.

The spirituality of Maurice Garrigou is based on the contemplation of the suffering Christ (Ecce Homo, Calvary) and of Mary at the foot of the Cross. For him, compassion is an active solidarity towards the excluded. His legacy is perpetuated through the Sisters of Compassion, the Compassionist Christian Community (laity), and a historical museum located at the Mother House of the congregation in Toulouse.