Pierre-François Jamet was a French Roman Catholic priest who refused to take the oath of allegiance during the French Revolution. He is also called the "Second Founder" due to restoring the dwindled order of the Sisters of the Bon Sauveur. In 1827 he was awarded the Legion of Honor for his service as a priest. Jamet was beatified in 1987 after Pope John Paul II approved a miracle attributed to his intercession. Jamet remains the patron of the order he restored.
Life
Pierre-François Jamet was born on 13 September1762 in France to the poor farmers Pierre Jamet and Marie Madeleine Busnot. He had eight siblings - two became priests and one sister became a nun. In 1782 he commenced his theological and philosophical studies at the University of Caen upon feeling that he was being called to become a priest and commenced his studies for the priesthood in that same village in 1784. He graduated with a masters in arts and completing a bachelor of theological studies. Jamet was ordained to the priesthood on 22 September 1787. However he could not go for further studies due to the outbreak of revolution not long after. Jamet refused to swear allegiance to the new government of the French Revolution in 1790 and was later arrested due to this dissidence. He even suffered death threats at this time. Upon his release he set about the restoration of the Sisters of the Bon Sauveur which was in decline at that time and would celebrate mass in secret. On 19 November 1790 he was appointed as its chaplain and confessor. He became the superior of the congregation in 1819. He also served as the rector of his old educational institute where he graduated and served there from 1822 to 1830. He also established a school for teaching people who were deaf. In 1827 he was recognized for his great service as a priest and was thus awarded the Legion of Honor. Jamet died in 1845. He is buried in Caen.
Beatification
The beatification process commenced in 1930 in an informative process that had been tasked to collect all of Jamet's writings and other documents that could support the beatification proceedings. Its closure allowed for theologians to take his writings and assess whether or not it was in opposition to the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. The decree of approval of his writings was approved after the theological consulters cleared them. These processes took place despite the fact that the formal introduction of the cause did not come until the Congregation for the Causes of Saints - under Pope Paul VI - approved the process on 16 January 1975 in a move that granted Jamet the posthumous title of Servant of God - the first stage in the process. It was after this a second diocesan process took place to continue the work of the first while both were later validated so the cause could continue to Rome for officials there to commence their own investigation. The postulation then could compile and submit the Positio to Rome so the officials there had something to investigate. But it had to first receive the approval of historians to see if there were obstacles or not to the cause and the affirmative vote allowed for the cause to proceed. On 21 March 1985 he was declared to be Venerable after Pope John Paul II acknowledged the fact that Jamet had lived a life of heroic virtue. The miracle needed for beatification was investigated and ratified on 19 April 1985. The pope approved the healing to be a legitimate miracle on 5 June 1986 and beatified Jamet on 10 May 1987.
