A tireless preacher, Regis is best known for his work with at-risk women and orphans. His mother, Marguerite de Cugunhan, was of a noble family. On 8 December , in his nineteenth year, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Toulouse and he took his vows two years later. After finishing his course in rhetoric at Cahors , Regis was sent to teach grammar at several colleges: Billom β22 , Puy-en-Velay β27 , and Auch β Noted for an intense love of preaching and teaching the Faith , as well as the desire to save souls, [ 1 ] Regis began his study of theology at Toulouse in Less than two years later, in , he was ordained a priest at The following year, having completed his studies, Regis made his tertianship.
Regis was now fully prepared for his lifework and entered upon his apostolic career in the summer of He was a tireless worker who spent most of his life serving the marginalized. Here he labored for the conversion of the Huguenots , visited hospitals, assisted the needy, withdrew from vice wayward women and girls, and preached Catholic doctrine with tireless zeal to children and the poor.
He established safe houses and found jobs for them. He also established several hostels for prostitutes, and helped many become trained lace makers, which provided them with a stable income and an opportunity to avoid the threat of exploitation. His preaching style was said to have been simple and direct. He appealed to the uneducated peasantry and numerous conversions resulted. Regis's labors reaped a harvest of conversions.
However, his boldness β perceived as arrogance in some cases β led to a conflict with certain other priests, a period of tension with the local bishop, and even threats of violence from those whose vices he condemned.
Regis walked from town to town, in rough mountainous areas where travel was difficult, especially in the winter. John Francis Regis is the patron saint of lacemakers , medical social workers, and illegitimate children. John Francis Regis' birth, honoring him as a "lofty figure of holiness" and an example for the Church in the modern world.
