Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière

On February 2, 1630, Jérôme Le Royer received a mystical inspiration calling him to found a hospital congregation and to establish a colony on the island of Montreal. In 1636, he founded the Confraternity of Saint Joseph (the future Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph) with Marie de La Ferre. In 1639, he joined forces with Jean-Jacques Olier to create the Society of Notre-Dame of Montreal. He recruited Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance to found Ville-Marie (Montreal) in 1642, dedicating his life and fortune to supporting this colony from France.

A member of the Third Order of Saint Francis and the Company of the Blessed Sacrament, Jérôme Le Royer embodies the committed laity of the Catholic Reformation. Despite criticisms labeling his projects as "foolish enterprises," he maintained absolute trust in Providence. After organizing the departure of the first hospital sisters for Montreal from La Rochelle in 1659, he fell gravely ill and died on November 6, 1659, in La Flèche, ruined but abandoned to the will of God.

The cause for the beatification of Jérôme Le Royer was introduced in the 20th century. The diocesan process took place from 1934 to 1936 in the Diocese of Le Mans. His spiritual writings were approved in 1937. After the examination of the Positio, Pope Benedict XVI authorized on July 6, 2007, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thus conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of Jérôme Le Royer is centered on Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. His legacy is perpetuated through the city of Montreal, of which he is the co-founder and spiritual instigator, as well as through the Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph, who continue their mission of caring for the sick and the destitute in Canada and throughout the world.