Pierre Coudrin
Pierre Coudrin, SS.CC (1 March 1768 – 1837) was a French Catholic priest who founded the Picpus Fathers, a religious institute of the Catholic Church known for its missionary work in Hawaii, Africa, Europe, Central America and the Pacific Islands. Life Marie-Joseph-Pierre Coudrin was born on 1 March 1768, at Coussay-les-Bois, near Poitiers. His parents were farmers. His uncle was a parish priest in a neighboring village. Pierre spent his vacations with him during the years of his primary education, and his uncle prepared him for first communion. He completed his secondary studies in 1785 at Châtellerault, and at 17 years of age, entered the University of Poitiers. He was only a deacon when the persecution, directed against the clergy, dispersed the students of the seminary of Poitiers, where he was being trained. Having learned that Mgr de Bonal, Bishop of Clermont, was in Paris and would confer Holy Orders upon him, he set out for that city, and on 4 March 1792, was ordained priest in the Irish Seminary just as France was becoming embroiled in the Revolution. The ordination took place secretly in the library, because the revolutionaries had seized the chapel to hold their meetings. Vision After