Emmanuel
FROM THE EDITOR
The priest and founder Peter Julian Eymard was a dynamic witness to
the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Naturally inclined toward
contemplation, he was nonetheless a man of action. In May 1856, when
Archbishop Dominique Sibour of Paris expressed reluctance to approve
his new eucharistic order, Eymard quickly explained the work of the First
Communion of adults and youth, a ministry desperately needed in a city
teeming with masses of unchurched adults and youth. The archbishop
was won over.
Understandably, Father Eymard’s first efforts focused on stabilizing the
life of the new institute and attracting followers. By the spring of 1858,
he was ready to launch the First Communion project. Archival material
of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament narrates what happened:
“With the help of laypeople, and members of the Saint Vincent de Paul
conference, he gathers young workers in the district who had not
been catechized. With great patience, he prepares them for their First
Communion. On August 15, 1858, he finds joy in giving Communion to
twelve young people; the following day they receive confirmation. Thus,
the work of the First Communion of adults is born and grows in one of
the poorest areas of Paris, the barrière d’Arcueil.”
Eymard later described these first catechism classes: “Those involved are
children workers, vagabonds, or those placed in apprenticeship early
and who have let the age of instruction for First Communion slip by . . .
there are thousands of them in Paris. Rag pickers, rope and match makers
constituted the recruits from the workers’ ranks, the rest were drawn from
the ranks of the idlers, the indigent, and beggars.”
Historian Damien Cash casts further light on the work, writing: “Baptism,
Communion, and confirmation were the first spiritual fruits of this mission.
For the participants, there were also material benefits as the experience
became an upward step, signified by the new set of clothes that every
child received for his or her First Communion. To provide ongoing
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