Blessed Jean-Martin Moÿe
Profile
Sixth of thirteen children born to John Moÿe and Catharine Demange. Studied at the College of Pont-à-Mousson, the Jesuit College at Strasburg, and the Seminary of Saint-Simon at Metz, France. Ordained on 9 March 1754 in the diocese of Metz. Helped found schools for poor country children. Founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence in 1762. Superior of the seminary of Saint Dié. Joined the Paris Foreign Mission Society in 1769. Missionary to China in 1773. Repeatedly harassed and imprisoned for spreading the faith. In 1782 he founded the Christian Virgins, a group of religious women who followed the rules of the Congregation of Providence, but were not a formal Congregation; they cared for the sick, and taught Christianity to women and children in their own homes. His health broken, Father Moÿe returned to France in 1784 where he resumed direction of the Sisters of Divine Providence. Preached missions in Lorraine and Alsace in France. Exiled from France in 1791 as part of the French Revolution; he and the Sisters moved to Trier. When French troops captured the city, typhoid fever broke out; he and the Sisters devoted themselves to hospital work where he died of the disease himself.
Born
- 27 January 1730 in Cutting, Meurthe, France
- 8 February 1793 in Trier, Rhineland Palatinate (modern Germany) of typhoid fever
- the site of his burial is now a public square
MLA Citation
- “Blessed Jean-Martin Moÿe“. CatholicSaints.Info. 3 May 2024. Web. 18 May 2024. <>