Pastoral Work Continues

These persecutions formed a dark background to the increasing brilliance of his pastoral success. Jansenists, Calvinists, even pirates (who unsuccessfully tried to capture him while en route to a mission at the Isle-Dieu) could only interrupt, but never stop, the mighty tide of graces that seemed to accompany his work everywhere, and particularly at La Rochelle. Here the accounts of cures, miracles, and conversions remind one of the days of the early Church. It is an extraordinary record of pastoral activity—one which gives increasing evidence of the sanctity of this untiring and courageous man.