Born at Moirans (Isère), April 4, 1814
Taking of the habit at Notre-Dame de Laus, October 15, 1836
Perpetual oblation at Vico, November 1, 1845 (no. 150)
Died at Vico, February 12, 1878.
Jean Pierre Métifiot was born in Moirans, in the diocese of Grenoble on April 4, 1814, the oldest child of several brothers and sisters. His parents were farmers. At the head of his class in elementary school, at twelve years of age, the youngster was hired out to one of his uncles to tend and care for the livestock. In that situation, he received rather harsh treatment. After three years, he took on employment as a domestic servant at the Saint-Antoine convent in Dauphiné where one of his aunts was in residence.
In 1836, three Oblates preached a parish mission in that region. In his confession to Father Ambroise Vincens, the young lad expressed his desire to become a religious. After the mission, Father Vincens took him with him to Notre-Dame de l’Osier, and then sent him to begin his novitiate at Notre-Dame du Laus on October 15, 1836.
In May of 1836, Bishop Raphaël Casanelli d’Istria, Bishop of Ajaccio, had given to the Oblates the convent of Saint Francis in Vico, a property he owned. After a few months of novitiate, Brother Métifiot was sent there with Father Dominique Albini, the first Oblate superior of that house. It was there that Brother Métifiot made his perpetual vows on November 1, 1845 and spent his life as a gardener. He was a real godsend to that community. He is the one who built the walls around the property and who, through his labour, made the land fertile.
Brother Métifiot did a lot of studying on his own. He knew Latin and Greek, and at the end of his life, left behind a collection of dried plant specimens with 2500 varieties in the collection. He was above all a model religious. Father Eugène Antoine Audric wrote that “among all those who had the privilege of knowing dear Brother Pierre during his long religious life of forty-three years, there was not one who was not impressed with his consistent regularity, his fervour which always maintained its freshness, his angelic innocence, his deep and sincere humility, his assiduous industriousness in his work and especially his dedication to the interests of the house, a dedication in every respect and a dedication in which death found him.”
After 1876, Brother Métifiot’s health declined rapidly. He found that he could no longer work. The medical doctor who visited him used to say of him: “He exhausted himself from work; the thought of not being able to work again was the final nail in his coffin.” He was prepared for death. From the time of the retreat he made in preparation for this First Holy Communion when the retreat master spoke with great firmness about the Last Judgment, Jean Pierre lived each day as if it were his last day on earth. The thought of God’s judgment stayed with him all the days of his life. He died a peaceful death on February 12, 1878.
Yvon Beaudoin, o.m.i
