Andre Coindre

André Coindre was a French Roman Catholic priest who founded the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, a religious order dedicated to the education of young people, especially the poor and marginalized. He was born in Lyon in 1787, during the turbulent times of the French Revolution. He attended the École Centrale de Lyon and then the minor seminary, where he met other future saints and founders, such as Marcellin Champagnat, Jean-Marie Vianney and Jean-Claude Colin. He was ordained in 1812 by Cardinal Joseph Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon Bonaparte. He soon became a renowned preacher and missionary, traveling across France and converting many souls. He also worked as a chaplain in the prisons of Lyon, where he witnessed the misery and hopelessness of the young inmates. He felt a strong call to help them by providing them with moral, intellectual and religious education. He founded an orphanage and a trade school for homeless boys in 1819, and later established a refuge for young offenders. In 1821, he gathered ten men who shared his vision and founded the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, a congregation that would continue his work of educating youth in the spirit of the Gospel. He also collaborated with Claudine Thévenet in founding the Religious of Jesus and Mary, a congregation of women with a similar mission. André Coindre died in 1826, at the age of 39, after falling from a window in Blois, where he had gone to preach a mission. He left behind a legacy of faith, charity and zeal that inspired many generations of brothers and students. His cause for canonization is currently under investigation by the Church.