Suzanne died when Jacques was seven-and-a-half years old. His father remarried the following year and there were two children of that marriage, Robert and Virginie. The family continued to be a happy one. Jacques, being the first-born boy, inherited his father's name, and the fact that the name Desiré ‘the longed for' was added tells its own story of the family situation. The father was a strict disciplinarian and had been local Mayor under four successive French administrations from the Revolution to the Restoration of the monarchy.

When Jacques was thirteen he began his studies with a group of boys being taught by his father's brother, Fr Nicholas, who had been a professor in the Evreux junior seminary until forced to take refuge in England during the Revolution. Having returned to France after the Concordat between Napoleon and the Holy See he was appointed Dean of Tourville-la-Campagne where he resumed his former métier in his spare time – giving tuition to boys who hoped to enter the seminary at Evreux . Jacques had told his mother that he wanted to be either a priest or a doctor. He spent three years at this school – boarding with the other students at his uncle's large presbytery. It was a very happy experience but, as Fr Nicholas had to attend to his pastoral duties, the schooling imparted was somewhat intermittent. “Murdering Latin” as Fr Laval described it later. He was always happy to return to Tourville when on holidays even after his ordination. It was from there in fact that he set out for Mauritius . The church and presbytery are still extant. In 1816 the Laval family moved to Louye near Nonancourt. This substantial farm house and out offices still stand. When Jacques was 17 years he was sent to the Junior seminary in Evreux where the students had by then to attend class at the local communal school. As his education to date had not been very methodical, Jacques did not fit in well with the strict academic pattern of the state school where many of the students were preparing hard for entry into third level secular institutes. Having told his father that he did not want to continue he was deliberately put working at very demanding chores on the farm to teach him a real lesson. Soon he relented and asked to be sent back to school – not, this time, to study for the priesthood. His father had originally begun his own studies for a career in law but had had to return home to take charge of the farm when his father died. He would now like to see Jacques opting for a career in law. This time he was sent to the best school available, namely the newly established and highly esteemed Collège Stanislas in Paris which King Louis XVIII had taken under his patronage, naming it after his grandfather, Louis Leckzinski. Students had come to this school from all over France because of its high reputation and its Catholic ethos, directed as it was by two born educators, Frs Auge and Liautard. By no means a brilliant student, Jacques worked hard this time and was very happy with the tutorial system and with his teachers and fellow students. Towards the end of his studies his father died. Naturally this was a great shock, but this time Jacques' younger brother Augustine stepped in to take over management of the family farm.

After five years at Collège Stanislas Jacques qualified for the bachelier ès lettres in 1825. He was then aged 22 years. Having consulted his uncle, Fr Nicholas, about his future career, he was told: “Good priests are badly needed, but so also are good Christian doctors.” Jacques decided to be a doctor.

As we part company with Collège Stanislas it is of interest to mention that the following year, Francis Libermann – the founder of the missionary society that Jacques was destined to join – came to the college from Alsace to consider renouncing his Jewish religion and embracing Christianity.

Jacques entered the medical school at the Sorbonne in Paris and the authorities in Collège Stanislas arranged that he stay with a select group of students in the house of a kindly old professor of the Faculty of Medicine who acted as their tutor and quasi-guardian. During his free time Jacques served among the very poor in Rue Mouffetard beside Rue Lhomond, no doubt under the direction of Sr Rosalie of the Sisters of Charity, who had inspired Blessed Frederick Ozanam in his launching of the St Vincent de Paul Conference in the Latin Quarter . Laval also liked to visit Saint-Sulpice seminary where some former fellow students of his at his uncle's school at Tourville were by then studying for the priesthood. Though he liked the atmosphere of quiet and recollection and spoke about religious topics, he expressed no interest at that time in joining the priesthood himself. At the age of 30 he qualified as a doctor, having submitted for his thesis an essay on Articular Rheumatism. It was well received and though he had received his Diploma of MD he planned to continue his studies for two more years. Unfortunately the 1830 Revolution put paid to his plans. Conscripted, he was ordered to man the barricades. Eventually he was able to return home and, having gone to consult his uncle, it was decided that he should begin his practice as a doctor.

Saint-André and Ivry-la-Bataille

Dr Jacques set up practice at Saint-André near Evreux , a central place where the Laval family were well known. He was favourably received as there was need for a second doctor there. A handsome man, though with one shoulder higher than the other, he dressed stylishly and cut a good figure. He loved horses though he was not a good rider. He lived well, even with a touch of luxury. A charitable man, he was well patronised by the poor, not merely because he gave his services free to them but because of his caring attitude towards them. Known to have served with the National Guard in Paris in 1830, he was asked to become the commandant of the Guard – a post he appreciated as he could sport the flashy uniform and sword which he had worn in Paris .

Gradually he got more involved in local social life. At first he was known to encourage his clients to keep in touch with the practice of their religion in times of illness etc. Latterly it was noticed, however, that he had given up his own regular religious practice in spite of the fact that he had several books on religion in his library and was known to read them. When this was pointed out to him by his sister Gertrude he agreed that his conduct was strange and added: “I am resisting God.” He resolved to make a complete break with his current lifestyle and return to the full practice of his religious duties but failed to make the final step of making a full confession of his failures to date. His generosity as a doctor gradually aroused the opposition of his senior colleague. He plotted against him, influencing the local pharmacist to cut him short in supplies of medicaments. The unguarded candour of Laval 's behaviour left him open to such machinations and even to malicious gossip because of his known friendship with some of his women patients.

Eventually he decided to move to a nearby town, Ivry-la-Bataille, where his maternal grandfather had been a magistrate and where many remembered his mother. He teamed up with a senior colleague known, in spite of being somewhat of a freethinker, as “Père Postel”. His influence tended to disturb Dr Laval's mental equilibrium as he was in the process of struggling with his own religious problems. Work piled up because of his medical expertise and his generosity again to the poor who had never previously consulted a doctor because of their poverty.

In time it was noticed that Jacques was returning to his religious practice – in particular assisting at mass – but not near home as he did not want to be seen by Dr Postel. He joined with a group of women who discussed religious topics, and he agreed to give talks on certain religious subjects but always asked time to read up about the matter first. He was soon meeting them in the evening to recite the Rosary and before mass in the morning to take part in organising May devotions, much to the surprise of the local pastor. Some thought this was a first fervour and that it would soon pass. Not surprisingly his colleague “Père” Postel thought he was going mad!

At this stage Dr Laval was put in contact with the parish priest of Epieds, l'Abbé Letard. They proved soul friends from their first meeting. With this priest he laid bare his soul and his deep-down desire to respond to the special call from God. He had, in fact, at last realised that God had been calling him all along to opt for the priesthood. He confided to his friend l'Abbé Letard that he wanted not merely to be a priest but to become a missionary.

He consulted other priests about his plans for exchanging his career as doctor for being a priest. All were against such a course of action. He was advised to keep on his work as a doctor because of the great good he was doing. His brother Robert also tried to argue him out of this decision, pointing out all the good work he could do as a doctor. He replied: “True. I hesitated all along between the priesthood and medicine. I chose medicine and now I see that I was wrong. God is calling me. This is my vocation. As a priest I shall be able to more good. I must follow the voice of God. So I have to ask you not to speak to me again about this matter.”

Local gossips had their own explanation for the Doctor's decision to quit. Had he not been disappointed in love by the rejection of his proposal to his cousin Marguerite Buffet? Did he not narrowly escape death when he fell from his horse? Had he not made a wrong diagnosis when he was called to examine a young woman suffering from abdominal pains, member of the domestic staff in a local château: he had ordered her to hospital but a midwife in the château had delivered her that night of a baby? Was his professional pride stung? Etc. But Jacques, who had long struggled with his vocation, was really at last surrendering to God's call.

Issy

Once it was agreed that Dr Laval was to enter a senior seminary the question arose as to which seminary – the diocesan seminary at Evreux or the quasi-national one in Paris conducted by the Sulpician society. Saint-Sulpice was chosen as being the most appropriate for his state and because it was far removed from the scenes of his labours of late. Having been interviewed, it was decided that he should spend some time in the Philosophy house at Issy in preparation for the study of Theology. Having arrived there on 14 June 1835 he got down immediately to the study of the various branches of the Philosophy course. To say that he did not find it easy to grapple with the abstract material of the various sciences would be an understatement, especially due to his poor grounding in Latin. One thing he missed badly was the lack of his favourite form of exercise, namely horse riding. He received several letters criticising him for his decision to quit his profession. He found it hard to get rid of his preoccupations as a doctor and was full of apprehension for the years ahead. But gradually his peace of mind was restored by the unworldly conversation of his fellow students. He was edified by all that he saw and very soon all were edified by him, especially on seeing a man of his age and lifestyle now falling fully into line with the regime of the seminary. A director wrote a note about him: “He is a saint”. Later, one student who admired him as they said the Divine office together walking up and down the Gloriette galerie in very cold weather wrote: “He is unconscious of the cold and tries so hard to pronounce each word correctly, but I wish he were not so slow.” Though Francis Libermann was there at the time, there was no record of Jacques having participated in the Bands of Piety conducted by Libermann. His style was to remain silent and hidden – to keep a very low profile, as we say today. At the beginning of the new academic year he was examined and was exempted from having to do the normal full course of philosophy.

Saint-Sulpice

Jacques Laval was admitted to Theology in Saint-Sulpice on 10 October 1835 . He was fortunate to have as spiritual director one of the masters in that area, Fr Gallais. Jacques put complete trust in his guidance, accepting him as the interpreter of the will of God for him. On a number of occasions he mentioned to him that he wanted to go on the missions and that he hoped to join the Vincentians to that end, but he was told he would then have to learn Chinese for service in their missions and it would be better to wait till there was a mission where French was spoken. In the meantime he was told it was his duty was to serve in his own native diocese of Evreux . One of the seminarians with whom he shared his thoughts was Eugene Tisserant, who was later to lead him to his true vocation as a missionary in Mauritius .

Soon after his arrival at Saint-Sulpice he was appointed almoner to the poor who called to the seminary for material assistance. He was seen to treat them always with respect and devotion. Having spent most of his family fortune already in assisting the poor he gave instructions that part of his family property be sold. Again he parted readily with the money received. Much of what adorned his room when he first arrived gradually disappeared as he set out to embrace for himself a life of poverty. He loved to instruct the children of the poor who called for alms and he told Eugene Tisserant that his delight would be teaching the catechism to the poor. He was seen by all to grow in grace but what people were most conscious of was his humility. Although obviously advanced in sanctity he is not on record as having taken any part in the ‘Bands of Piety' that were part of the seminary ethos in Saint-Sulpice. As always, he avoided any publicity and wanted to be lost in silence and oblivion. He was very conscious of his duty to practice penance to make reparation for his “sinful past”. It was only when he visited his uncle, Fr Nicholas, in his parish at Tourville-la-Campagne during the holidays that he was seen to lead a very penitential life indeed. Instead of using the comfortable feather bed prepared for him he slept on the straw and ate the poorest food to hand. No matter how early people went to the church in the morning he was found to be there in prayer beside the altar.

He was conferred with Tonsure and Minor orders in 1836 and the following year was ordained subdeacon and later deacon. On 22 December 1838 he was ordained priest by Mgr Hyacinth de Quélen, Archbishop of Paris. As he was leaving the seminary the director told him: “You are not very intelligent but you have common sense. Be docile and you will succeed”. The following day he returned to Evreux to receive his appointment from the bishop, Mgr Salmon du Chatelier. He wanted no pomp or ceremony as he celebrated his first mass – just a quiet celebration with members of his family.

Pinterville

On January 8 1839 Fr Jacques Laval received his first appointment as priest. Normally he should have started as curate, but the Bishop, conscious of his age and his reputation, had no hesitation in appointing him parish priest. The parish chosen was Pinterville on the banks of the Eure some four miles from Louviers. He took up duty there on 2 February, replacing L'Abbé Guilmin, who was being promoted. The housekeeper, Fr Guilman's niece, decided however to stay on with Fr Laval. It was a small parish of 486 inhabitants. The attendance at church was much smaller. Twelve attended Sunday mass and fewer still attended any other parish ceremony. The people looked to the priest merely on the occasion of baptisms, marriages and funerals. Even the sacristan was non-practising. The majority were farmers but a large number depended for their livelihood on working long hours in the factories at Louviers. Few were rich; many were really poor. There were many even who depended on begging, as Fr Jacques was soon to learn.

Though few showed interest in his ministry, he was available at all hours. Rising at 4 a.m. he was soon in the church and spent most of his day there till late at night. He decided that his weapons to combat the indifference of his flock would be prayer and fasting. He would have much time for prayer and his housekeeper was to be amazed and annoyed at his fasting. He celebrated mass at 8 a.m. , always fasting as was the custom in those days. At ten he ate a small portion of bread and then returned to the church where he was to be seen rapt in prayer kneeling at the foot of the altar. Later, to avoid notice, he prayed at the back of the altar, often lying prostrate on a stone slab even in freezing conditions. Referring to this in later years he admitted that he did feel the terrible cold but remarked that prayer warmed the heart. A seminarian who served his mass recalled that Fr Laval looked like an angel when he was in prayer and his face seemed to radiate happiness. Those who recalled his love for horse riding saw him now trudging on foot to Louviers and elsewhere shod in the heavy peasant sabots (clogs) and wearing a faded patched soutane. As people recognised him they used say: “Here comes St Vincent de Paul” as his reputation for caring for the poor had already spread abroad. He even parted with his straw mattress to a mendicant. He was ready to share his meals with the poorest, serving them what was prepared for himself to the annoyance of his house keeper, who nevertheless continued to always revere him. When one particular customer was obviously playing on Fr Laval's generosity the Sacristan said: “He is fooling you”. The reply was: “No. He is fooling himself.”

He loved young children and became a popular teacher of catechism but was rather demanding with those whom he was preparing for First Holy Communion. He had twenty-one of them ready for First Communion by 21 November – an unprecedented number in that village. He spent Sunday afternoon with the children, organising Vespers, reciting the Rosary, singing hymns, reading from the lives of the saints – and it was the children who expressed disappointment when they had to leave for home.

He took catechetical classes for grown ups but because they had to work till late in the factories he took these classes late in the evening. Again the villagers appreciated these classes as their Christian education had been neglected. He often continued his lessons, prayers and hymn-singing as they went on walks on Sunday afternoons along the river Eure. When the village schoolteacher left without being replaced it was Fr Laval who took over for some months to continue the schooling. It was particularly noticed that he never raised his voice in reprimands. When families were forced to leave their homes in January 1841 because of the flooding by the Eure it was in the presbytery they found shelter, food and clothing. Those marooned were reached by Fr Laval coming to their aid on a borrowed horse. The most vivid memories people had of their priest was his visits to the sick in their homes and his helping those who were terminally ill to face death in perfect peace of mind. He organised committees to care for the sick in their homes and look after the church decoration. They even decided to refurbish the building, having the walls plastered and the sanctuary redecorated. As a neighbouring parish of Acquigny – twice the size of Pinterville – had no priest, the Bishop asked him to look after it. For several months he gave it the same attention he had been giving to his own flock and was seen to have rejuvenated the parish – always travelling there on foot. One could keep on and on reciting examples of Fr Laval's total dedication to his flock, young and old.

The voice of God

Much as Fr Laval wanted to work on the foreign missions, he made no move to have himself appointed to the missions. He was awaiting God's call if that was God's will. A seminarist recalled reading a passage from the life of St Peter Claver for him where the saint dealt lovingly with a poor slave who had repulsed others because of his festering sores. Fr Laval asked him to repeat the incident and remarked how beautiful it was, but he made no comment about his desires to imitate that saint who had spent his life working among the black slaves.

Sometime later two students from Saint-Sulpice, who were returning from a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Chartres, dropped in to Fr Laval in the hopes that they might get a meal. They got their meal alright but he detained them for a prolonged visit to the church and a walk along the river where they spoke to him of Saint-Sulpice. Mention was made of a new society being planned by some of the students to provide volunteers to work among the recently liberated black slaves in Haiti and Reunion . Laval expressed his admiration for such an apostolate but did not mention his own hopes in that direction. His director, Fr Gallais, had not mentioned the matter in his letters to him and the students did not mention Laval as a possible candidate on their return to Saint-Sulpice.

Shortly afterwards they had a visit from Bishop William Collier, who had been recently appointed Vicar Apostolic of Mauritius. Though a British colony since 1810, the language most commonly in use was French and there was a guarantee given that the Catholic faith would be upheld. Bishop Collier hoped to find some young French priests who would be willing to work in Mauritius . Frederick Le Vavasseur, though a native of Reunion , was willing to transfer to Mauritius if that was what God wanted. They informed Bishop Collier of the society that was being planned in Rome by Francis Libermann and about the problems besetting the project – in particular finding a bishop who would sponsor the society. Bishop Collier informed them that he was only too happy to fill this role in the interests of his mission. Eugene Tisserant, who was near ordination and was one of the key men in the planning of the new society, was set on going to work among the slaves in Haiti . He consented, however, to put himself at the disposal of Bishop Collier till Haiti was open to him. He was asked to secure another French-speaking priest to accompany him to Mauritius . It was only then that the two students who had visited Fr Laval in Pinterville spoke of his great enthusiasm for such a vocation. Fr Laval's director, Fr Gallais, wrote to Laval to apprise him of these developments and to learn his reaction. Fr Laval was delighted and, seeing this opening as God's plan at last, was back in Saint-Sulpice by return post, as it were. After a short retreat he was instructed in the essentials of the proposed rule, namely to consecrate himself to the Work for the Blacks and to live under obedience and poverty. He made over his material goods to the new society which was now accepted as being under the direction of Francis Libermann whom Fr Laval had known in passing at Issy.

The next hurdle was to secure the permission of Fr Laval's bishop for his transfer to Mauritius . Understandably, the first reaction of the bishop was a categorical negative. Although he had 568 priests serving in diocese, he felt he needed 200 more. However, on being personally approached by Bishop Collier, he relented and agreed to part with Fr Laval. On Sunday 19 February 1841 he said goodbye to his parishioners in Pinterville, assuring them that he would never have left them to go to another parish but that he knew God was calling him to the missions where the need was greater. As he said goodbye to his relatives they deplored his decision to set out on such a hazardous mission and feared that as he looked so emaciated he would never arrive ‘ là-bas' alive. He then went to stay with his uncle until he got the call to catch the boat for London .

The long-delayed call came eventually in the middle of the night while he was staying at his uncle's presbytery and, in a cab hired by Frederick Le Vavasseur, he headed for Paris where he stayed with Fr Tisserant, who was by then temporary curate at St Ambrose parish. Having to remain on there for six weeks while awaiting instructions from Bishop Collier, who was again delayed, he got actively involved with the poor in the area and in catechising young children. He amazed Fr Tisserant and edified the people with his pastoral zeal and activity. He visited the shrine of Our Lady of Victories in Paris and consecrated himself and his work there to Our Lady as so many of Fr Libermann's men were to do as a matter of obligation over the years. Taking the stage-coach for Boulogne-sur-mer on 4 June 1841 , he set off next day for London . He took lodgings in a small inn near the docks where he occupied an attic. His food was meagre – a little bread, some water and a little meat. As his trunk did not arrive for ten days he had only the clothes he travelled in. Even so, he could write to Fr Gallais, the Director of Saint Sulpice on 25 May, “I am quite content”. In a letter dated 1 June to Francis Libermann, by then in the senior seminary in Strasbourg , he gave a few more details:

I have been in London for eighteen days and am acquainted with one street which leads to our ship and to a poor little chapel served by a zealous German priest, and frequented by a number of poor but edifying Germans. I have the joy of celebrating Holy Mass every morning and of making a long visit to the Lord every evening. In fact, I spend most of my time there at the feet of the Divine Master, waiting for the moment when he is ready to send me over the seas to spread his Holy Name among the most abandoned souls who know him not.

Those eighteen days became twenty-one, and, at last, on 4 June 1841 the Tangora weighed anchor, bound for Bombay via Mauritius . He was now entering a new world where his glorious life of inspired pastoral work was really about to begin.

‘ Apostle of Mauritius '

There were ca 70,000 recently liberated slaves in Mauritius at the time of Fr Laval's arrival. Three out of four had been baptised but no one had bothered to teach them the elements of the Christian religion. Marginalised, they were treated “as beasts of burden”. Single-handed Fr Laval set about the task of evangelising them. He first taught those whom he contacted to love God and love one another. Seeing that illiterate though they were they grasped the essentials of the faith with enthusiasm he struck on an inspired strategy. Making a virtue of necessity, he taught some of them to become his helpers in preparing others for reception of the sacraments, caring for the sick and leading groups in communal prayer. Catechists, in fact. From the primitive prayer houses they conducted, chapels were formed and in time some of these became large parish churches. The names and some details about 80 of these lay catechists – women as well as men – have been preserved and published. For several years the British authorities objected to the arrival of other French priests on the island which had formerly been a French colony. Fr Libermann's efforts to recruit Irish priests for this difficult ministry met with little success.

While Fr Laval worked on his own one of his great problems was the opposition he encountered from many of white population – especially the former slaves' masters who objected to seeing their employees growing in confidence and self respect as God's children. He was mocked, maligned and even physically attacked. Employers considered time spent by the people at religious exercises a waste of working time. But above all they were incensed that, due to Fr Laval's influence, the women no longer could be treated merely as sex objects.

From the start Fr Laval was deeply conscious that for evangelisation – being eminently the work of God – prayer was the most important human contribution, more vital even than skilled organization. This was a message he repeated frequently to his helpers and in his letters. His greatest contribution to the transformation of his flock were the long hours he spent in the confessional – equalling the record of his contemporary back in France – the Curé d'Ars.

A time came when, in spite of his intensive pastoral and his fidelity to his own prayer life, he felt that he had lost out on his close friendship with God. He no longer felt joy in the thought of God, his pastoral ministry or his private devotions. His former fervour had evaporated. As he worried about this experience he wrote about it to Fr Libermann whom he looked on as his spiritual guide. (Letter 34) Fr Libermann had himself experienced that stage of aridity and had written frequently for others about this experience as a normal stage in the purification of the senses. What neither Fr Laval nor Fr Libermann knew was that the founder of the Congregation, Claude Poullart des Places, had gone through the same experience almost a century and a half previously and had used almost the same words to express his worry about this development.

Contemporary testimonies

We limit ourselves here to a few contemporary quotations about Fr Laval's ministry in Mauritius .

Bishop Collier in his official report to the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda in 1854, without actually naming the “zealous ecclesiastic”, wrote as follows about the great transformation achieved by Fr Laval:

I am happy to be able to announce to you that religion has made remarkable conquests since my departure (the bishop was writing in 1845 after a two-year absence in Europe ). The blacks have notably benefited by the ministry of a zealous ecclesiastic, a true apostle who has dedicated himself to their instruction and salvation. I see with consolation that the church of Port-Louis is filled every evening with these onetime slaves who flock there most eagerly and behave there with edifying piety.

An Irish priest, Joseph O'Dwyer, author of a lengthy memorandum sent to Rome in 1854, corroborates Bishop Collier's statement but does not share the bishop's reluctance to name Laval :

I have never seen so complete a change in the conduct of such a large number of people as that which has taken place among the blacks. Under God the credit for this great work belongs to Fr Laval, the man destined by God to work the conversion and the reform of this unfortunate people. These blacks, formerly so coarse, so sensual and so lazy have risen in a few years to the level of the best peasants found in Europe . Drunkenness has disappeared. Blasphemy is no longer heard. In the fields, in the work-shops, in the houses, on the roads everywhere in place of the obscene songs of the slavery days, they sing the praise of God and of the Blessed Virgin. These people live happily in their little dwellings without ambition and without anxieties. Among them there are still some who have not returned to their religious duties. Never at least do we see brawls, riots or licentious scenes. Formerly men and women lived together without marrying, forming unions or separating as passion, whim or interest dictated. Since their conversion they all enter marriage. Scandalous homes don't exist save among those who have not taken up religion and of these the number declines daily…With the aid of his confreres Fr Laval has spread the faith and piety everywhere Blacks are to be found in Mauritius.

By the time that report was compiled some of Fr Libermann's priests had managed to get permission to serve on the island, namely Frs François Thiersé, Prosper Lambert, Charles Blanpin and François Thévaux. Their arrival of course was a great assistance for Fr Laval, but his neglect in insisting on their observance of the rule of life of the Congregation earned for him a severe reprimand from the new Superior General, Fr Ignatius Schwindenhammer. The first of these helpers to arrive in 1848 was surprised to hear Fr Laval urging his poor congregation to contribute to a fund for the starving Irish.

W riting to his sister and brother-in-law in 1853 Fr Laval had this to say himself about their pastoral work:

Port-Louis, where I am working, is a large town; with its suburbs, there are around 30,000 people, all of whom have to be visited. We have to teach, catechize, console, visit and administer the sacrament to all these people, so you can see that there is much work to be done. The good Lord for whom we are working has blessed our efforts and has made his word bear fruit. This country, and above all the poor blacks for whom we have been sent here, did not even know that there was a God when we first arrived.

That Fr Laval's life and work had been widely appreciated was witnessed by the fact that some 40,000 – half the population of the island – turned out for his funeral. A continuing tribute to the lasting value of Fr Laval's work was to be seen over the years as thousands of pilgrims of different races and religions made their way to his tomb chanting. A striking refrain often was: “No Saint in heaven like Fr Laval.”

It was long felt that Fr Laval's reputation for sanctity should be acknowledged by the official church. Dr John T Murphy CSSp, appointed Bishop of Port Louis in 1916, made this one of his priorities. He had his cause officially introduced in 1918.

Fr Jacques Laval, who died on 9 September 1864 , always venerated as a saint, was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul 2 on 29 April 1979 , his first such ceremony, and he declared that he was putting his pontificate under his protection. When he visited Mauritius in 1989 he was happy to join the pilgrims and kneel at Fr Laval's tomb at Sainte-Croix near the capital Port Louis