Father Jacques‑Désiré Laval was raised to the glory of the altars on 29 April 1979, during the first beatification of Pope Saint John Paul II’s pontificate. What is striking in that homily is that the Pope does not merely celebrate a missionary of the past; he invites us to contemplate a man entirely given to God, whose life remains a light for the Church today.
Father Laval was not born a missionary. A Norman physician, well integrated into worldly society, he underwent a long interior struggle before responding to the Lord’s call. By leaving his profession and renouncing a comfortable life, he opened a path of self‑emptying that led him to Mauritius, among the poorest, the former slaves, those whom he tenderly called his “dear Blacks.” There, for twenty‑three years, he gave everything: his time, his strength, his heart.
The Holy Father highlights that Laval never separated the proclamation of the Gospel from concrete care for people. As a former doctor, he knew that human dignity is restored also through health, hygiene, and justice. His mission took flesh in real life, attentive to visible and invisible wounds. He evangelized by healing, and healed by evangelizing. His way of announcing Christ was marked by great simplicity. He sought neither grand ceremonies nor brilliant speeches. He advanced through closeness, listening, patience. He formed small groups, returned constantly to what is essential, and built modest chapels so that each community might have a place to pray. His pedagogy was that of daily life: a solid faith, rooted in reality.
Laval was also a forerunner. Long before the Church spoke of co‑responsibility, he understood that the poor themselves must become evangelizers of the poor. He surrounded himself with local collaborators—men and women, prayer leaders, catechists, visitors of the sick. He helped grow a Church in which everyone had a place, where mission did not depend on one man alone but on a people rising together.
Where did this inner strength come from? John Paul II gives us the key: Laval’s secret is his holiness—humble holiness, nourished by long hours before the Blessed Sacrament, by absolute trust in the Virgin Mary, by a life quietly offered. He considered himself tepid, dry, insufficient. Yet this interior poverty was precisely the place where God could do everything. His apostolic patience, gentleness, and courage came from there: from a heart resting on God alone.
Re‑reading this homily—an invitation I extend to you—we discover a companion for our own journey. Laval teaches us that mission is born from listening, fidelity in small things, and closeness to the most fragile. He reminds us that true apostolic joy surpasses mere passing enthusiasm and becomes a light springing from a life given. He shows us that holiness lies in a daily walk—humble, persevering, within everyone’s reach.
And the words of Pope Saint John Paul II still resound: “May he be the joy and the inspiration of all Spiritan religious… May he encourage all those who strive to build a fraternal world, free from racial prejudice.” In this light, Blessed Father Laval remains a guide for us: a man who let God enlarge his heart, a missionary who made charity his only method, a brother who reminds us that the Gospel always begins with a gesture of closeness. In him, the flame of Poullart des Places and the intuition of Father Libermann meet and take flesh in a life entirely given.
Crispin Mbumba, C.S.Sp.
Coordinator of Spirituality
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