John Berthier

John Baptiste Berthier (February 24, 1840 – October 16, 1908) was a Catholic missionary and educator. He founded a Catholic religious institute, the Institute for Late Vocations in Grave, the Netherlands in 1895 - organized to meet the needs of men who desired to become priests later in their life.

Venerable Jean-Baptiste Berthier M.S.
Priest
Born	24 February 1840 Châtonnay, Isère, Kingdom of France
Died	16 October 1908(1908-10-16) (aged 68) Grave, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Attributes	Priest's cassock
Patronage	Missionaries of the Holy Family

Life

Berthier was born February 24, 1840, in Chatonnay in southern France.^[1] On October 23, 1858, at the age of 18, he entered the seminary in Grenoble. In July 1862, he joined the Missionaries of La Salette. He was ordained a priest in September 1862.^[2] Berthier was first assigned to the Minor Seminary of Saint Joseph in Corps.^[3]

The organization received episcopal approval in 1904, and took the name Missionaries of the Holy Family. Berthier died October 16, 1908.^[1] Berthier was the author of 36 ascetical and theological works, largely relating to the diversity of ways to holiness through imitating the holy family.^[1]

The group expanded into Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Brazil by 1910.^[4] As of 2014^[update] there were Holy Family priests and brothers serving in 22 countries around the world.^[5] its members cultivate a special devotion to Our Lady, Reconciler of Sinners, retaining thus a spiritual kinship with the Missionaries of La Salette, of which Berthier was a member.

The cause for beatification for John Berthier has been opened.^[6]

Bibliography

• Thoughts of Father Berthier: A Treasure with Old and New Things, by Father Berthier - Congregazione dei Missionari della Sacra Famiglia, Editions du Signe, (c) 2011, ISBN 978-2-7468-2673-1, www.editionsdusigne.fr.
• Les merveilles de la Salette. Téqui, 1898.

References

1. Catholic University of America. New Catholic encyclopedia, Volume 2. Thomas/Gale 2003. p333
2. "Our Founder", Missionaries of the Holy Family
3. "Berthier, M.S. – A Final Procession", Les Annales, La Salette Publications
4. Kleinschmidt, B. (1926). Das Auslanddeutschtum in Übersee und die katholische Missionsbewegung: mit besonderer Berücksichtigung von Deutschland u. Österreich von 1875 bis 1925. Aschendorff p. 157 (1926)
5. Melton, J. Gordon. Faiths Across Time: 5,000 Years of Religious History [4 Volumes]: 5,000 Years of Religious History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. p1587
6. Pace, Edward Aloysius, ed. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church. Encyclopedia Press, 1922.