Our Founder:
The Venerable Louis Querbes

The Clerics of St. Viator were founded by the Venerable Louis Querbes (1793-1859). Fr. Querbes desired a society of catechists to “teach Christian doctrine” and “serve the holy altar.” Particularly, Fr. Querbes wanted to serve overlooked rural parishes who lacked the prestige and financial means to bring in religious men or women to minister and teach.

The Viatorians began in the Archdiocese of Lyon, France, where Fr. Querbes was a diocesan priest. In 1831, the archbishop approved the Viatorians to begin ministry in Lyon. Then, in 1838, Fr. Querbes traveled to Rome and gained papal approval for the Viatorians from Pope Gregory XVI. His vision of priest-catechists working collaboratively with lay catechists was revised to include only professed religious, but that original intention came to fruition in the late 20th century.

Fr. Querbes became the first Superior General for the congregation, which began to grow. He attempted expansion in France and to international missions, and Viatorians eventually took root in French Canada and, shortly after his death, in Bourbonnais Grove, Illinois, a French-Canadian frontier enclave in the US.

In 2019, Fr. Querbes, who was already a Servant of God, was declared Venerable. His cause for sainthood remains open before the Vatican, and we invite the prayers of the faithful for his intercession and beatification.

Read more about the life of the Venerable Louis Querbes in this biography, Proclaim Jesus Christ Especially to the Poor: