Jean-Claude Colin
French Catholic priest (1790–1875), founder of the Society of Mary
Who they were
Jean-Claude Colin, ordained in 1816, was the most retiring of a group of seminarians at Lyons who dreamed of a society dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, yet became its real founder.
He preached missions in neglected country parishes, and in 1836 obtained papal approval of the Society of Mary (the Marists), becoming its superior. He died on 28 February 1875; in 1908 his cause was before the Congregation of Rites.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe his cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A humble priest who founded the Marists.
The cause
Jean-Claude Colin has been declared Venerable; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Marist Fathers: the cause of Venerable Jean-Claude Colin.
Connected on this site
- Marcellin Champagnat Saint“Champagnat was ordained as a priest on 22 July 1816 and was part of a group led by Jean-Claude Colin, who founded the Society of Mary, a separate religious congregation.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Jean-Claude Colin
- Wikidata Q1684745 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Jean-Claude Colin (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.