At a young age of 14, Blessed Antoine Chevrier had already realized that he wanted to be a priest. He started his studies for priesthood at 17 and was ordained on May 25, 1850 by Cardinal Louis Jacques Maurice de Bonald. He was sent to Saint-André de la Guillotière, where the poorest of Lyon resides, as an assistant priest. There he dedicated himself to helping the poor.
On Christmas Eve of 1856, as he was meditating before the Nativity creche, he was enlightened on his true mission. His calling is to not just help the poor by himself alone but to organize a religious congregation that is for the poor. He consulted with St. John Marie Vianney regarding this matter. Saint John Marie Vianney encouraged him to follow his true mission. A year after, he was permitted to leave the parish to follow his calling. He met with layman Camille Rambaud in June 1857 and he began working with and sheltering children that were poor, abandoned, sent to prison, and those that were working factories.
He also played a part in quelling the civil unrest between Lyon and Paris in 1871. The parade of the Eucharist in celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi went undisrupted by either side of the conflict.
