Nicolas Roland
French priest and founder (1642–1678)
Feast: 27 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Nicolas Roland was born at Reims on 8 December 1642, eldest son of a merchant. On 3 March 1665, as a deacon, he was made theologian canon, preacher of Reims cathedral.
After the plague of 1668 he preached, gave conferences to the clergy and went on foot on missions in the countryside; he served the sick of the Hôtel-Dieu and an orphanage. Devoted to the Christian formation of children, he opened schools for poor girls, then excluded from all education, and founded the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A canon who opened schools for poor girls when no one else would teach them.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Nicola Roland
- Wikidata Q3340759 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Nicolas Roland (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.