Jean-Baptiste Berthier

The major work of Father Jean-Baptiste Berthier is the foundation of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Holy Family (MSF). In the context of his ministry to young people and modest families, Father Berthier frequently encountered mature men or those from poor backgrounds who felt a late call to the priesthood. However, these candidates faced major obstacles: the impossibility of financing long studies and the strict age limit (generally set at thirteen) for entering the minor seminary. Anxious to foster these late vocations, Father Berthier asked his superiors at La Salette for authorization to open a specific apostolic school. Faced with their refusal, he conceived the project of founding a new religious institute entirely dedicated to this cause. Encouraged by Pope Leo XIII, he received the support of Cardinal Benoît-Marie Langénieux, Archbishop of Reims, who helped him draft the constitutions of the future congregation in 1895. However, the political climate in France under the Third Republic was then extremely hostile to religious congregations, which were threatened with expulsion. Father Berthier therefore had to seek refuge abroad to realize his foundation. In March 1895, he went to the Netherlands and settled in Grave, in North Brabant, where he acquired a disused former military barracks to open his first apostolic school. The new congregation, placed under the patronage of the Holy Family, was officially approved by the local bishop on September 28, 1895. The first priests trained by the institute were ordained in 1905. The congregation received the decree of praise (Decretum laudis) from the Holy See in 1911, and its constitutions were definitively approved in 1931.

Father Jean-Baptiste Berthier led a life marked by a profound union with God, heroic humility, and unwavering obedience, accepting with patience the trials of illness and the material difficulties linked to exile and the beginnings of his foundation. He passed away piously in Grave on October 16, 1908, at the age of 68, surrounded by his spiritual sons. The reputation of holiness of the founder and the rapid influence of his missionary work led to the opening of his cause for beatification. The diocesan inquiry into his life and virtues was introduced and finalized in 1953, allowing for the transfer of the file to Rome to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. After a period of slowing down, the process received new momentum under the pontificate of John Paul II, supported by the provinces of the congregation in France, Poland, and Madagascar.

On May 19, 2018, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God Jean-Baptiste Berthier. This decree was officially published on May 21, 2018, elevating Father Berthier to the rank of Venerable. The cause is currently ongoing. For his beatification to be pronounced, the Church must now officially recognize a miracle performed through his intercession.

The spirituality of Jean-Baptiste Berthier rests on two fundamental pillars: the imitation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and the Marian devotion inherited from La Salette. For Father Berthier, the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) constitutes the perfect model of community life, charity, humility, and the pursuit of holiness in daily life. He insists that holiness is not reserved for an elite, but is accessible to all through the faithful fulfillment of the duties of one's state in life. His spirituality is also deeply marked by the message of reconciliation of Our Lady of La Salette, which he strove to propagate throughout his life. Today, the legacy of the Venerable Jean-Baptiste Berthier continues through the Missionaries of the Holy Family. Although Francophone vocations have dried up over time, the congregation has experienced remarkable international development. It is now active in nearly twenty countries on four continents (notably in Poland, Germany, Latin America, Asia, and Africa), where its members dedicate themselves to family ministry, helping the most destitute, and fostering priestly and religious vocations.