Born: Cotignac (Var), November 18, 1826
Took the habit: N.-D. de l’Osier, September 13, 1845
Vows: N.-D. de l’Osier, September 14, 1846 (No.164)
Priestly ordination: Montreal, September 30, 1849
Died: Hull, Canada, January 25, 1890.

Eugène Cauvin was born in Cotignac, diocese of Fréjus, France, on November 18, 1826. His parents were Martin-S. Cauvin and Madeleine H. Gérard. He entered the juniorate in Notre-Dame de Lumières in 1842 after a mission preached by the Oblates, Father Martin and his confreres, in Cotignac. Before beginning his philosophical studies he entered the novitiate in Notre-Dame de l’Osier on September 13, 1845 and he took vows there on September 14, 1846. Having completed two years of theology in the major Seminary in Marseilles, he received his obedience for Canada and left for that mission in May 1848. He was immediately sent to the major seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1848-1849) and then returned to Montreal where he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Ignace Bourget on September 30, 1849.

In the following years Father Cauvin ministered in several parishes in Canada and the United States: Saint-Alexis in Saguenay (1849-1853), Saint-Pierre-Apôtre, Montreal (1853-1854, 1857-1863), Saint Joseph, Burlington, Vermont (1854-1856), Saint-Sauveur, Quebec (1863-1867, 1874-1877), Saint Peter, Plattsburgh, New York (1867-1873), Saint Paul, Minnesota (1873-1874). He was then appointed superior and pastor in Hull, near Ottawa, from 1877 until his death in 1890. There his ministry was much appreciated by the faithful and he took many initiatives, especially in the area of education. He also began the rebuilding of the church and presbytery that had been destroyed by fire and simultaneously he saw to the building of a convent for the Sisters and about 150 houses in the town.

He died in Hull, after a short illness, on January 23, 1890. He is buried in the city cemetery. The then Provincial of Canada, Father Célestin Augier, had this to write about him: “Father Cauvin was a genuine old-timer. He had spent his youthful years in the juniorate of Notre-Dame de Lumières and, when he came to America, his soul bore the imprint of the Congregation which it had received at its beginnings from our venerated Founder. The Congregation was his family, his only family, a family which he loved from the very depths of his being. He seemed to live for it alone. As a devoted son he was always on the side of his mother to defend and save her. There can be no doubt that grace did not wipe out all the sharper points of his nature. There were times when he exploded, the Provençal sometimes eclipsed the religious; but the storms were of short duration, and calm soon returned to the firmament of his soul. He took pleasure in being of service, and one of the greatest joys of his life was always the happiness he procured for others. He instinctively lived an active life; that was a felt need for his expansive and daring nature…”
Yvon Beaudoin
and Gaston Carrière, o.m.i.