The Holy Man of Tours

By Dorothy Scallan.

The life of Venerable Leo Dupont, besides being one of the finest biographies of a saint the reader will likely ever encounter, is also the suspenseful story of the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus and how it was established—first at Tours, France and then worldwide, as authorized by Pope Leo XIII in 1885. However, before it was approved by the Church, Leo Dupont practiced this devotion privately in his drawing room, where a true likeness of Veronica’s vail was perpetually venerated by a burning lamp, and before which he would pray for hours on end. Soon miracles began to occur by the application of the oil from this perpetual lamp to the afflicted members of sick people and invalids.

The miracles became so numerous that Pope Pius IX declared Leo Dupont to be perhaps the greatest miracle-worker in Church history. People from all over Europe and around the world would write to Monsieur Dupont for a few ounces of this holy oil, often addressing him simply as “The Holy Man of Tours, Tours, France.” The postmen at Tours always knew to whom they meant. Whereas The Golden Arrow: The Autobiography and Revelations of Sr. Mary of St. Peter (1816–1848) contains the actual moving revelations of Our Lord about the powerful Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

The Holy Man of Tours is in reality the fascinating story of this great devotion, especially of the seemingly insurmountable difficulties encountered in having it officially recognized by the Church. In many respects, The Holy Man of Tours is one of the most moving and best written Catholic books in print today—and is certainly one which will reward the reader far beyond what he might ever possibly anticipate.