Born at Briançon (Hautes-Alpes), October 17, 1809.
Taking of the habit at Notre-Dame du Laus, February 12, 1832
Oblation at Notre-Dame du Laus, February 17, 1833 (no. 53)
Ordination to the priesthood at Marseilles, June 2, 1933
Expelled from the Congregation in 1840.
Joseph André Jérôme Gignoux was born in Briançon, diocese of Gap, October 17, 1809. After his seminary studies, he made his novitiate at Notre-Dame du Laus from February 12, 1832 to February 17, 1833 with Father H. Guibert as Master of Novices. Bishop Eugene de Mazenod, Bishop of Icosia, ordained him to the priesthood in the chapel at Le Calvaire on June 2, 1833.
He, then, stayed on at Le Calvaire. October 29, 1833, from Rome, the Founder wrote to Father Tempier: “Give G[ignoux] a good shaking up, show him no mercy. What a pity that with all that talent he should surrender himself to that otiose mysticity that will end up leaving him in a complete fog and deprive him in the meantime of all possibility of doing some good.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1831-1836, Oblate Writings I, vol. 8, no. 471, p. 111) In his report of April 20, 1834 on the scholastic brothers and the young priests, Father Casimir Aubert states that Gignoux has made little progress while at Le Calvaire “because of the peculiar mindset he has.”
In the spring of 1834, Father Gignoux received his obedience for Notre-Dame du Laus where, it seems, Father Mille held him in esteem and even considered him “the only worker he had” in spite of the fact that he had several other young priests in his community. Father Gignoux, as it turned out, was not a very good religious. In the year 1835-1836 while Father Casimir Aubert was Novice Master at Notre-Dame du Laus, he still had Father Gignoux under his direction. In June of 1836, the Founder wrote him: “Try to bring your influence to bear on Gignoux to get him into the way of a sensible measure of regularity, the way to go about it is to set up some chats with him in which without any affectation you talk about what real perfection consists in.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1831-1836, Oblate Writings I, vol. 8, no. 577, p. 238)
In November-December of 1836, in the parish mission of Chélieu (Isère) given by the priests from the Oblate community of l’Osier, he replaced Father Dassy who was ill. In January of 1837, he took part in the parish mission of Mane (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) along with Father Mille. Then, he preached the parish mission of St. Nicholas alone with Father Hermitte. In the May 10, 1837 entry in his Diary, the Founder wrote that they returned “completely exhausted, much due to their own fault. These two priests are harmful to each other.”
In September of 1837, Father Gignoux was sent to Notre-Dame de l’Osier. He admits to Father Chauvet that he is happy to go, but on the 14th of September, Bishop de Mazenod received a letter from him which was “a bit odd. By obedience he is going to Notre-Dame de l’Osier, but he expects to suffer much there.” Practically nothing is mentioned about him for two years. Nevertheless, at the end of September of 1837, Father Guigues admits that Gignoux and Pélissier are not easy to guide. In July of 1838, Father Pont was sent to l’Osier. Father Guigues wrote to the Founder (Diary entry of July 6) that: “I think it was sufficient for Gignoux to stay at home and do no work.”
At the beginning of September of 1839, Father Gignoux informed the Founder that he was leaving the Congregtion. On September 14, the Founder answered him by saying: “God is my witness that I would willingly have given my life to calm your exasperation. I am calling on you to exonerate me before God’s tribunal; I did everything I could to remove this misfortune from you. I pray God that he remove from you the chastisement I fear for those who are unfaithful to their vocation. I would offer him my life if I knew that the sacrifice could save you from this ruin.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1837-1842, Oblate Writings I, vol. 9, no. 699, p. 134)
Bishop de Mazenod then called him to Marseilles. Gignoux refused to obey. November 24, as the religious and ecclesiastical superior of Gignoux (who was excardinated from the diocese of Gap March 6, 1833) , Bishop de Mazenod wrote to him, ordering him to refrain from celebrating Mass “until I decide that your repentance is sincere and that the great scandal you have just caused has been sufficiently repaired. In the meantime you can go back to your family to weep for your sin. Since so fatherly a letter as the one I wrote you on first hearing the news of your estrangement did not produce any effect in you, I shall not attempt to add any other feeling than that of deep sorrow which your behaviour causes me.” (Letters to the Oblates of France, 1837-1842, Oblate Writings I, vol. 9, no. 706, p. 140)
In November, the Founder received another letter from Father Gignoux which he characterized as “a fabrication of wild nonsense and folly. This is not the first time that I have noticed that there is something in his head that is not right.” (Diary, November 19, 1839) What had, in fact, happened was that Fathers Gignoux and Pélissier, both from the diocese of Gap, had let themselves be won over by the religious authorities of the diocese who wanted, willy nilly, to take the sanctuary of Laus away from the Oblates. In November, Gignoux even went to see the Bishop of Gap “to sell the Congregation down the river like Judas sold his Master” the Founder wrote in the November 24 entry of his Diary. He continued: “the religious authorities never leave off plotting to crush that poor community of Laus whose imagined riches they covet… A traitor steps forward to hand over his mother by means of all the slanderous statements that his empty head and his vile heart have led him to invent.”
By a December 9, 1839 letter, Father Dassy of the community at l’Osier wrote to the Founder: “In the wake of the great scandal perpetrated by Mr. Gignoux throughout the area of Osier where he sought, before leaving, to disparage all the members of the community, we could hardly expect other than to have to endure some difficult days… Finally, we are at peace. There is no longer any talk of this apostate except for bestowing upon him the names and designations with which he has so shamefully soiled himself…”
In August of 1840, the General Council expelled him. By an August 28 letter, the Founder dispensed him from his vows. Following his departure, Abbé Gignoux was parish priest in the diocese of Gap: from 1841-1847 at Château-Queyras, from 1847 to 1860 at Aiguilles near Briançon. He died December 31, 1860.
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i.
