“More than 150 years later, religious from the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament are returning to Saint Maurice for a retreat in the house that Saint Eymard called his ‘little paradise’.” This is what the present owner of the house at Saint Maurice exclaimed when he learned that some religious from the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament were wanting to come there to make a retreat, precisely in the place where Saint Eymard so loved to withdraw and rest.

The present owners are a Vietnamese couple. They bought the house in 2011 and renovated it into a secondary residence. Previously, Father Eymard had purchased it in 1866 to set up the Novitiate. The exterior structure of the house remains intact. The grounds cover 5.75 hectares (see CO 1808,1).

The house stands on the top of a hill, overlooking two ponds, one to the left and the other to the right. Encircling the property there is a path, along which Saint Eymard liked to walk for meditation.

From November 21 to 27, 2025, a few sisters of the Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament and I came here to make a retreat. The host allocated me to the room Father Eymard had occupied when he lived here. He explained that this room had a small window from which he was directly able to contemplate the Lord in the tabernacle of the chapel. This room also has a large window overlooking the nearby Church of Saint Maurice, the bells of which can be heard ringing at every hour.

During the week of the retreat, we celebrated Mass and had Eucharistic Adoration in the room that served as the sacristy in Father Eymard’s time. We had the opportunity to reread and meditate on Father Eymard’s personal notes of his last retreat made in this house of Saint-Maurice, from April 27 to May 2, 1868. During these few days, he meditated on the grace of retreat, which is the grace of graces, Eucharistic faith, renewal, the Eucharistic vocation, the gift of the Spirit, silence, humility, self-love, contrition, the sin of pride, serving God… (cf. NR 45)

After the week of retreat, we gathered at the graves of the priests and brothers of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation who are buried in the cemetery and prayed for them. Then we visited the Church of Saint Maurice in which is a statue of Saint Eymard.

For me, this retreat was very enriching. I deepened my understanding of the feelings, thoughts, and true character of Saint Eymard, as well as his love for Jesus in the Eucharist, as expressed in his resolutions on the last day of the retreat at Saint Maurice.

The house of Saint-Maurice has been transformed into a holiday home, but its owner says that it is an ideal place for a retreat: spacious, calm and peaceful, with abundant vegetation and fresh air. He has expressed his willingness to welcome Blessed Sacrament religious and sisters for spiritual retreats.

Father Joseph Le Huu Phuoc, sss