Father Jean Martin Eyraud

A French Missionary in America

Father Jean Martin Eyraud was a French missionary priest who served in the United States during the nineteenth century. He died in 1868. His cause for canonization has been formally opened, and he holds the title Servant of God, listed among American candidates for sainthood.

Father Eyraud was part of the great wave of French clergy who came to serve the rapidly growing Catholic Church in America during the 1800s. Many dioceses across the South and Midwest depended heavily on French-born priests who left their homeland to bring the sacraments to immigrant and frontier communities. Their sacrifices built the foundation of Catholic life in many parts of the country.

Detailed biographical information is limited in English-language sources. Further information about this cause may be available from the sponsoring diocese or religious order.