Peter Fourier - Early Life

Early Life

Fourier was born in the village of Mirecourt, in the Department of Vosges, then in the Duchy of Lorraine. He began his monastic career as a canon regular in the abbey at Chaumousey, where he made his profession of vows in 1687and was ordained a priest at the extraordinary age of twenty-four. He was a scholastic theologian who knew the Summa Theologica by heart, and earned the great respect of both the university officials and the Count-Bishop of Metz, who offered him a high ecclesiastical post. Fourier chose, instead, to return to his abbey.

After his return to his canonical community, however, he was subjected to two years of hostility and abuse by his fellow canons, even by some accounts a case of attempted poisoning. He chose not to confront his abbot with the situation and accepted this persecution patiently. The care of local parishes in that region of France was routinely entrusted to the many abbeys and priories of canons. In 1597, when his abbot was assigning him a post, Fourier passed over two prestigious options, accepted the post of pastor of Mattaincourt in order to combat the indifference to religion widespread in the town, and to shore up religious orthodoxy (to counter nascent Protestantism in the area).

To this end, he instituted two major reforms that showed his intelligence and concern for his flock. The first of these was to improve the financial lives of his community by setting up a community bank. His second innovation was in his preaching style, where he employed dialogues with small groups of his parishioners to explain their faith. He had his pupils engage in dialectics on Sundays on the various virtues and vices in practice by the congregation. This style was immensely successful and the entire region remained loyal to the Catholic Church.

Fourier led an extremely ascetic way of life while serving as pastor. He would spend much of the night in prayer. He refused the services of a housekeeper, even when his own stepmother offered to provide his care. His severe self-denial enabled him to direct much of the income of the parish to the needy of the town.