Adrien Gréa was born on February 18, 1828, and studied law at L’École des Chartes in Paris, where he became friends with
Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the
Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He later took a doctorate in theology at the Sapientia University, and was ordained to the sacred priesthood on September 20, 1856. The
congregation was founded at
Saint-Claude, in the Department of
Jura, by Adrien Gréa, then a
secular priest and
Vicar General of the
Diocese of St.-Claude, a position he had accepted in 1863 at the bishop's urging, despite his feeling of being called to life in a religious community. Through his position of authority in the diocese, Gréa came to see many of the troubles experienced in the lives of its clergy. He came to attribute much of the problem to the isolation of their lives, even when sharing a
rectory. Having studied
Church history while preparing for his
ordination as a priest, he felt that a solution could be found in the communal lives of the canons regular, who combine a monastic way of life with the
pastoral care of the secular clergy. He then determined to commit himself to that way of life. ==References==