The era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire had ended in 1815, with the Church humbled by years of persecution. Ordained in 1812, André Coindre was one of a new generation of Catholic clergy committed to the revival of the Church and its mission to the poor. As a chaplain in the squalid prisons of Lyon, Fr. André realized that juvenile delinquents had little hope of rehabilitation. He established a haven in which young offenders were provided vocational training and Christian formation. In 1821 Fr.